I was much affected by the kindness of Hackney, who was a young American; and I regret to add that I felt more hurt than I ought to have done at the remark of Woods.

CHAPTER 4. FROM GAIRDNER'S RANGE TO PERTH.

THE HILL RIVER.

Sunday April 14.

We travelled about fourteen miles due south over a range of high ironstone hills which were occasionally clothed with grass-trees. The scrub was however still thick, prickly, and very difficult to penetrate; the heat was intense and the whole party were getting very weak. About noon, and when we had just gained a commanding summit, I looked back at Mount Perron, now several miles in our rear; from this point we began to descend into an extensive valley, and at the end of fourteen miles reached a small river which I named the Hill.

DISCOVERY AND PILLAGE OF A NATIVE PROVISION STORE.

We halted at the first pool we came to and the men, who had a little flour left, boiled two tablespoonfuls of this in about a pint and a half of water, thus making what they called soup. In the meantime Kaiber came in and told me that he had found some holes in which the natives had, according to their custom, buried a store of By-yu nuts,* and he at the same time requested permission to steal them.

(*Footnote. The nut of the Zamia tree.)

I reflected for some time on his proposal; I was reluctant to mark the first approach of civilized man to this country of a savage race by an unprovoked act of pillage and robbery; yet we were now in the desert, on the point of perishing for want of food, the pangs of hunger gnawing us even in our very sleep, and with the means of temporary relief at hand. I asked myself if I should be acting justly or humanely by the others, whose lives were at stake if I allowed them to pass by the store, which seemed providentially offered to us, without pointing it out.

In my perplexity I turned to Kaiber: his answer was, "If we take all, this people will be angered greatly; they will say, 'What thief has stolen here: track his footsteps, spear him through the heart; wherefore has he stolen our hidden food?' But if we take what is buried in one hole they will say, 'Hungry people have been here; they were very empty, and now their bellies are full; they may be sorcerers; now they will not eat us as we sleep.'" Good, it is good, Kaiber," I replied; "come with me and we will rob one hole." And accordingly we went and took the contents of one, leaving three others undisturbed. I brought back these nuts to the men and we shared them amongst us.

We were so weary that we did not start until late in the afternoon, and then travelled south by east down the course of the river, making about six miles. It was joined by many small tributaries and now became a running stream flowing through a deep grassy valley in which were many large flats. In the course of the afternoon some of the men had a shot at a native dog; he was a fine fat fellow; but they were unsuccessful and never did I feel more disappointed than when I saw him cantering away desperately frightened but perfectly uninjured. I was sufficiently fortunate to shoot a hawk just before nightfall, and we then halted by the side of the river, lighted our fires, and laid down to sleep.

April 15.

In the course of the night I had cooked the hawk which I shot yesterday and before starting divided it as follows: I gave the head, entrails, and shanks to the native; then cutting the residue in half I gave one part to Hackney, who had so generously shared his morsel of damper with me, and kept the remaining portion for myself. Poor Hackney's wan and wasted countenance glowed with pleasure when this acceptable gift was placed in his hands, and I felt no slight degree of satisfaction in having an opportunity of showing him that I felt grateful for his act of generosity to me.

We now followed the course of the river for about two miles further and saw a considerable quantity of good land along its banks, clothed with feed for stock; but I cannot tell how far back this extends.

The river now ran away nearly due west under a low range of hills; and still adhering to my original plan I quitted its banks and continued my course straight for Perth, travelling in a south by east direction. The next two and a half miles led us to the top of a low range. The whole tract of country between this point and the river was arid and barren in the extreme, being devoid of all vegetation but a stunted prickly scrub, and on it we saw no signs either of animal life or water. We here for the first time since quitting Moresby's Flat-topped Range saw that the one to the east of us became well wooded, the interval between these two points having been completely bare of trees.

BARREN COUNTRY.

I now halted for about an hour and a half to rest the wearied men, and then again commenced our route over this barren waste. For the next twelve miles we travelled down a gentle descent leading to a very deep valley, and late in the evening reached some dried up swamps where we made an ineffectual search for water; we however saw here some parakeets, and I was lucky enough to kill one which was about the size of a thrush; several of the men also got shots at these little birds, but without success. As the day had been intensely hot and we had tasted no water since morning we suffered a great deal from want of it, but were at length compelled by darkness to lie down to rest without finding any.

DRY BED OF THE SMITH RIVER.

April 16.

We had not travelled above two miles this morning in an east-south-east direction when I found that we had reached the bottom of the valley into which we had yesterday evening commenced our descent. In this valley lay the dried up bed of a considerable stream, which I have named the Smith after my unfortunate friend. Its direction was from north-east to south.

LONG AND UTTER DESTITUTION OF FOOD AND WATER. SUFFERINGS FROM THIRST.

As we were now suffering a good deal from thirst we made a search in both directions along the bed, but although there were many pools (some of them being twelve or fourteen feet deep) we could not find the slightest indication of water having stood in them for a considerable time: in the bottom of one of the deepest of these pools was a native well, dug to the depth of about seven feet, but even at this distance below the surface we could see no signs whatever of water. There was much good land in the valley through which this watercourse wound, but all was barren and arid. In the course of the morning we had seen a flight of cockatoos coming from the eastward down the valley in which the bed of the river lay, which at the time made me imagine that water would be found in that direction in the interior, and the natives subsequently stated that such was the case, but our circumstances would not admit such a deviation from our course in a search which if unsuccessful would have proved fatal.

DISTRESSING SEARCH FOR WATER.

The sun had by this time become intensely hot, and the poor fellows grew faint for want of water, whilst it aggravated their sufferings that they stood upon the brink of a river, or wandered along its banks with eager piercing eyes, and an air of intense scrutinizing watchfulness peculiar to those who search for that on which their lives depend. One while they explored a shallow stony part of the bed, which was parched up and blackened by the fiery sun; their steps were slow and listless, and I could plainly see how faint, weak, and weary they were; the next minute another pool would be discerned ahead, the depth of which the eye could not at a distance reach; now they hurried on towards it with a dreadful look of eager anxiety, the pool was reached, the bottom seen, but, alas! no water; then they paused and looked one at the other with an air of utter despair. As long as they remained on the banks of this river bed a glimmering of hope remained; but I felt convinced from the general appearance of the country that there was not the slightest probability of our finding water there, and resolved therefore still to continue a direct route. When I gave this order the weak-minded quailed before it: they would rather have perished in wandering up and down those arid and inhospitable banks than have made a great effort and have torn themselves away from the vain and delusive hopes this watercourse held out to them.

With great pain I witnessed and bore my part in this distressing scene, but I at the moment felt that it would be necessary to save my energies for other occasions; suspecting that we were in a great tract of desert country, a large portion of which must still be passed ere we could hope for any alleviation from our sufferings; and I therefore at once commenced carrying into execution the order I had given, by walking on in a south by east direction. In about two miles we had gained the summit of the low range which bounded to the southward the valley where we had so vainly searched for water, and for the next ten miles we travelled over elevated sandy barren plains, thinly wooded with occasional clumps of Banksia trees.

DRY TEA-TREE SWAMP.

On our left was a lofty and well wooded range, distant only about four miles, and on our right lay extensive plains, the western extremity of which, distant about sixteen miles from us, was by the sea; these plains appeared tolerably fertile, being covered with tea-tree swamps, now apparently dried up. I still was led on by the hope, raised by the height of the range on our left, that we might find water issuing from it towards the coast, and had therefore not searched the plains which lay between us and the sea, indeed I felt fully convinced that the swamps we saw were all perfectly dry and the native coincided in my opinion; about an hour before sunset however we descended towards the plains, and turning due west we reached them in about half an hour, but found all the swamps quite destitute of water. As soon as it became dark I lit my fire and laid down by it, advising the others to pursue the same course and to preserve their energies for the morrow. But such advice was thrown away upon men almost perishing with thirst, and every now and then throughout the night I heard their weak husky voices as they wandered from swamp to swamp in the neighbourhood, digging holes with pointed sticks in a vain search.

NATIVE SONGS.

Poor Kaiber alone lay crouching by my fire, occasionally feeding it with fresh fuel and chanting to himself these two songs, in his own language:

Thither, mother oh, I return again, Thither oh, I return again.

The other had been sung by the mother of Miago, a native who had accompanied Captain Wickham in the Beagle from the Swan River, and it had made a great impression on the natives.

Whither does that lone ship wander, My young son I shall never see again. Whither does that lone ship wander.

EXTREME FEEBLENESS OF THE PARTY.

The night wore heavily on; sleepless sufferers were around me, and I myself began to feel very anxious as to what the next day might bring. The men had now been already one night and two days without tasting a single drop of water or food of any kind whatever, for as the only provisions they had left was a spoonful or two of flour each it was impossible for them to cook this without water; indeed only two of them had even this small supply of flour left, and the rest were wholly destitute.

I personally suffered far less than any of the others with the exception of the native, and this for several reasons. In the first place I had been long accustomed to subsist on a very small quantity of water, and secondly I had always kept my mind occupied and amused instead of giving way to desponding or gloomy thoughts. When we halted and the others laid wearily down, brooding over their melancholy situation, I employed myself in writing up my journal, which was most scrupulously kept; and this duty being concluded I had recourse to a small New Testament, my companion throughout all my wanderings, and from this latter I drank in such deep draughts of comfort that my spirits were always good.

DANGER OF PERISHING FOR WANT OF WATER.

April 17.

About an hour and a half before dawn we started in a south by east direction, the native leading the way, for it was yet too dark for me to select points to march upon. As we moved along we moistened our mouths by sucking a few drops of dew from the shrubs and reeds, but even this miserable resource failed us almost immediately after sunrise. The men were so worn out from fatigue and want of food and water that I could get them but a few hundred yards at a time, then some one of them would sit down and beg me so earnestly to stop for a few minutes that I could not refuse acceding to the request; when however I thus halted the native in every instance expressed his indignation, telling me that it was sacrificing his safety as well as those of the others who were able to move, for that if we did not find water ere night the whole party would die. He was indeed as weak from want of food as any of us, for we had made such rapid and lengthy marches in the hope of speedily forwarding assistance to those left behind that when we came at night to the conclusion of our day's journey Kaiber was too much exhausted to think of looking for food.

About two o'clock in the afternoon the men were so completely exhausted that it was impossible to induce them to move, and at this period I found that we had only made about eight miles in a south by east direction, over plains studded with small sandy hills and the beds of dried up tea-tree swamps.

When I halted the sun was intensely powerful; the groans and exclamations of some of the men were painful in the extreme; but my feelings were still more agonized when I saw the poor creatures driven, by the want of water, to drink their own ——, the last sad and revolting resource of thirst!

UNSUCCESSFUL SEARCH FOR WATER WITH KAIBER.

Unable to bear these distressing scenes any longer I ordered Kaiber to accompany me, and notwithstanding the heat and my own weariness I left the others lying down in such slight shade as the stunted banksias afforded, and throwing aside all my ammunition, papers, etc., started with him in search of water, carrying nothing but my double-barrelled gun. We proceeded towards the sea. As the natives have the faculty, even in the trackless woods which they have never before been in, of returning direct to any spot they have left by however circuitous a course they may have travelled after quitting it, I paid no attention to the direction we were moving in but followed Kaiber, who roamed from spot to spot in the vain search of water; but we found not a drop. The same arid barren country seemed spread on every side; and when at length I began occasionally to stumble and fall from weakness hope abandoned me, and I determined to return direct to my comrades and get them to make one more effort to proceed and search for it in a southerly direction.

TREACHEROUS INTENTIONS OF KAIBER, THE NATIVE.

I therefore told Kaiber that such was my intention, and directed him to guide me to the party. With apparent alacrity he obeyed my orders; but after leading me about some time in an extraordinary manner he told me that he had lost his way and could not find them. His look was so very plausible when he said this, and he seemed so grieved at the circumstance, that for a moment I believed his tale; but I felt convinced that we could not be at any very great distance from them and therefore fired one barrel of my gun; the echo of this sound, never heard in these solitudes before, rang loudly through the woods, remoter distances caught it up, and at length it gradually died away: anxiously did I now listen for a repetition of the report, for I knew, were they within hearing, the men would instantly fire again to acknowledge the signal I had made; but minute after minute passed on and no answering signal struck my ear. I sat down and applied my ear to the ground; every sense became absorbed in the single one of hearing, but not the remotest sound that I could distinguish broke the frightful solitude of these vast woods. I remained seated on the ground for a few minutes, still hearing no answer to my shot, till the conviction gradually forced itself on my mind that the native had been leading me astray. Only two cases could have occurred: either he had done so purposely, for he could not, by any accidental mistake, have taken me to such a distance as to prevent the party in these silent woods hearing the report of my gun, or otherwise the men had of themselves moved away from the place where I had left them. But I felt assured that this latter supposition was not correct, for ever since I quitted the other portion of the party I had maintained so strict a discipline that no man ever separated from the rest without my permission; indeed I had increased my strictness in these respects exactly in proportion to our increasing difficulties; and I moreover felt sure that some of the men were by far too much attached to me ever to abandon me in such a manner.

My situation however was undoubtedly very critical, not as far as regarded my own safety, for I was not now more than eighty miles from the nearest settler's hut; but was it possible for me to return alone to my countrymen and to say that I had lost all my comrades? that I had saved myself and left the others to perish? Yet I knew that unless I sent assistance to the first party I had left the majority of them could not survive; and from the state I had, about an hour and a half ago, left the others in, it appeared more than probable that they might wait and wait anxiously, expecting my return, until too weak to move, and thus die miserably in the woods.

These thoughts thronged rapidly through my mind. Indeed I was obliged to do all things quickly now for I felt that my existence depended upon my finding water within the next three or four hours. The native sat opposite to me on the ground, his keen savage eye watching the expression of my countenance, as each thought flitted across it. I saw that he was trying to read my feelings; and he at length thus broke the silence:

"Mr. Grey, today we can walk and may yet not die but drink water; tomorrow you and I will be two dead men, if we walk not now, for we shall then be weak and unable. The others sit down too much; they are weak and cannot walk: if we remain with them we shall all die; but we two are still strong; let us walk. There lies the sea; to that the streams run; it is long since we have crossed a river: go quickly, and before the next sun gets up we shall cross another running water." He paused for a minute, looking steadfastly at me, and then added, "You must leave the others, for I know not where they are, and we shall die in trying to find them."

HIS DESIGNS FRUSTRATED.

I now knew that he was playing me false and that he had purposely led me astray. He was too great a coward to move on alone for fear of other natives and, dreading to lose his life by thirst, he had hit upon this expedient of inducing me to abandon the others and to proceed with him. "Do you see the sun, Kaiber, and where it now stands?" I replied to him. "Yes," was his answer. "Then if you have not led me to the party before that sun falls behind the hills I will shoot you; as it begins to sink you die." I said these words, looking at him steadily in the face, and with the full intention of putting my threat into execution. He saw this, and yet strove to appear unconcerned, and with a forced laugh said, "You play. From daylight until now you and I have walked; we have wasted our strength now in looking for water for the others. But a short time, and we shall be dead; and you say, search for men whom I cannot find; you tell me, look; and I know not where to look." I now lost all patience with him and replied: "Kaiber, deceive as you will, you cannot deceive me; follow back our tracks instantly to the point from whence we started: if you do not find them, as the sun falls you die." "I am wearied," answered he; "for three days I have not either eaten or drunk, far have we wandered since we left them, and very distant from us are they now sitting." I could bear this no longer, and, starting up, said, "You deceive: the sun falls! just now I spoke: Koolyum, nganga dabbut—garrum wangaga." Again he forced a laugh and said, "Surely, you play." I answered shortly, "Did I ever tell you a lie, Kaiber? I now speak the truth."

RETURN TO THE PARTY WITHOUT WATER.

He seemed, when he saw that I was so determined, to feel a little uncomfortable, and shifting his position moved rather further from me; this motion on his part induced me to conceive that he intended to run away; in which case I could never again have hoped to rejoin the party; I therefore instantly cocked the remaining barrel of my gun and presented it at him, telling him that if he ever moved from me further than a certain tree which I pointed out I would forthwith shoot him, instead of waiting until sunset as I had originally intended. The decided manner in which I announced this to my friend Kaiber had the desired effect. He made a few protestations as to the folly of my conduct; lamented most loudly that his mother, and the Dandalup (a river of his own land) were so far removed from him; asserted vehemently that the natives of these parts were bandy-legged, rough-tongued beings; that they eat earth and drank no water; and, winding-up with a fervent wish that he might catch one of them wandering anywhere between Pinjarup and Mandurup, in which case he would spear his heart, his kidney, and his liver, he sulkily resumed his route and led me straight back to the party in about an hour.

DISTRESSING SYMPTOMS OF EXTREME THIRST.

The men, who had been much surprised at the length of my absence, were at first buoyed up with the hope that I had found water; but this hope had at last died away, and they knew not what to conjecture. They were all reduced to the last degree of weakness and want; indeed I myself was at this period suffering from the most distressing symptoms of thirst; not only was my mouth parched, burning, and devoid of moisture, but the senses of sight and hearing became much affected; I could scarcely recognise the voices of the rest; and when uncouth unnatural tones struck upon my ear it took me some time to collect my thoughts in order to understand what was said, somewhat in the way in which one is obliged to act when roused suddenly from a deep sleep. In the same manner my sight had become feeble and indistinct; but by far the most distressing sensation was that experienced upon rising up after having rested for a few moments. I then felt the blood rush violently to the head, and the feeling produced was as if it were driven by a forcing-pump through all my veins.

LAST EFFORTS.

Previously to starting again I gave the men orders, which I believed at the time would be, to some at least, the last. I did not attempt to hide from them the dangers which surrounded us; but stating these I represented that matters had now arrived at such a crisis that, in the event of any of them being unable to proceed, it would be wrong to expect the others to halt on their account; and I therefore called upon all to exert their utmost energies and boldly to make a last struggle for their lives. My intention, I told them, was to proceed slowly but steadily to the southward, and never once to halt until I dropped or reached water; even in the event of any being unable to keep up I warned them that I should not wait for them but still pursue a steady and undeviating course until water was found; but as soon as I had slaked my own thirst I would return and bring assistance to those who might have been unable to come on with me.

PAINFUL MARCH.

Having thus imparted my intentions I ordered them to throw away every superfluous article; and a very valuable sextant, which had hitherto been carried turn about by Corporals Auger and Coles, was here abandoned. These our preparations having been made we moved slowly on in sad procession, and never shall I forget the wild and haggard looks of those that followed me; reason had begun to hold but a very slight influence over some, and I feel assured that had it not been for the force of that discipline which I rigidly maintained some of the party must now have lost their lives. As it was, not a word of complaint was heard as to the plan I pursued or the route I took; but they all reeled and staggered after me, the silence being only broken by groans and exclamations. I preserved a slow uniform pace, proceeding still in a south by east direction, that is, in a straight line for Perth. The same sandy sterile country was around, thinly clothed with Banksia trees.

We had marched for about an hour and a quarter and in this time had only made two miles, when we suddenly arrived upon the edge of a dried-up bed of a sedgy swamp, which lay in the centre of a small plain, where we saw the foot-mark of a native imprinted on the sand, and again our hearts beat with hope, for this sign appeared to announce that we were once more entering the regions of animal life. We soon found that another part of the swamp was thickly marked with the footsteps of women and children; and as no water-baskets were scattered about no doubt could exist but that we were in the vicinity of water. We soon discovered several native wells dug in the bed of the swamp; but these were all dry, and I began again to fear that I was disappointed, when Kaiber suddenly started up from a thick bed of reeds and made me a sign which was unobserved by the others, as was evidently his intention.

FORTUNATE DISCOVERY OF A MOIST MUD-HOLE. PROVIDENTIAL SUPPLY.

I hurried up and found him with his head buried in a small hole of moist mud, for I can call it nothing else. I very deliberately raised Kaiber by the hair, as all expostulations to him were useless, and then called up the others.

Kaiber had completely swelled himself out with this thick muddy liquid, and from the mark upon the sides of the hole had evidently consumed more than half of the total supply. I first of all took some of this moist mud in my mouth, but finding a difficulty in swallowing it, as it was so thick, I strained a portion through a handkerchief. We had thirsted with an intense and burning thirst for three days and two nights, during the greater portion of which time we had been taking violent exercise under a fierce sun. To conceive the delight of the men when they arrived at this little hole of mud would be difficult. Each, as he came up and cast his wearied limbs on the ground beside the hole, uttered these words: "Thank God;" and then greedily swallowed a few mouthfuls of the liquid mud, protesting that it was the most delicious water and had a peculiar flavour which rendered it far superior to any other he had ever tasted.

DANGER OF PERISHING FROM HUNGER.

But it required some time before their faculties were sufficiently recovered to allow them duly to estimate the magnitude of the danger they had escaped. The small portion of muddy water in the hole was soon finished, and then by scraping it out clean we found that water began slowly to trickle into it again. The men now laid themselves down almost in a state of stupefaction, and rested by their treasured pool. I felt however that great calls upon my energies might still arise, and therefore, retiring a little apart with the native, I first of all returned hearty thanks to my Maker for the dangers and sufferings he had thus brought me through, and then tottered on with my gun in search of food. As might have been expected, game was here plentiful: numerous pigeons and other birds came down at nightfall (which was now the hour) for the purpose of drinking at this lone pool, and the numbers of birds of different kinds that congregated here was a most convincing proof of the general aridity of this part of the country. Indeed the natives subsequently reported that the tract we had just traversed was at this season of the year totally devoid of water. It was in vain now that I raised the gun, for my tremulous hand shook so that I could not for a moment cover the bird I aimed at, and after one or two ineffectual attempts to kill something I was obliged to desist in despair.

PANGS OF HUNGER.

I now dreaded that I had only escaped the pains of death by thirst in order to perish of hunger, and for a moment regretted that I had not died ere I found water, for I firmly believed, from the state of weakness I was then reduced to, that the bitterness of death had passed. But a short period sufficed to smother these unmanly and unchristian feelings in my breast, and, seeing a flight of black cockatoos soaring about in the air, I determined to watch them to their roosting-place, and then favoured by the darkness of night to steal upon them. On my return to the party I found the men sitting by the hole of water, anxiously watching until they again saw a little black mud in it, which they then eagerly swallowed.

I found some difficulty in inducing them to light their fire and to choose a situation where they could repose for the night, but, having accomplished this, I sat down by my own, hand-rubbing my limbs until it should grow rather darker. At length I had the pleasure of seeing that the black cockatoos, who found we were not likely to leave them in possession of the water, had taken up their position for the night in a large clump of trees distant not more than half a mile, and I hereupon started with Kaiber to try and get a shot at them.

SHOOT AND COOK A COCKATOO.

After about an hour's wandering and excitement such only as the desperate gambler can know whose life depends upon the stake for which he plays, I succeeded in getting a shot into a whole flight of roosting and snoring black cockatoos, and one fell. I pounced in triumph on it and received a bite which, famishing as I was, somewhat damped my ardour; Kaiber however hit it upon the head with a stick, and we then bore it off to our fire.

The men had cooked one spoonful of flour each in the liquid mud which the pool afforded, and assured me that they found this thick water very nourishing; whence I concluded that the large portion of mud it contained in some degree gratified the cravings of the stomach. Kaiber soon plucked the cockatoo and roasted it: I gave him the entrails, the feet, and the first joint of the legs, eating the head and thighs myself and reserving the other portions as a store against future emergencies. I now felt assured that my life was saved and, rendering thanks to God for his many mercies, I laid down by the fire to watch for the first appearance of dawn.

April 18.

The men slept but little during the night: every now and then one of them visited the hole of mud and water to see if a little of this fluid had drained into it, and about an hour before daylight I roused them up to proceed upon their journey. They were dreadfully feeble though upon the whole stronger than they had been for the last three days. We now entered upon a more hilly country than we had traversed yesterday; the hills were steep, being composed of sand and recent limestone, whilst the valleys were thickly wooded with grass-trees and stunted Banksias. The general line of route I followed was south by east, and we had not travelled more than nine miles when we came suddenly upon a valley with a river running rapidly through it. The sight of this cheered us up; and when on tasting the water we found it excellent, and saw adhering to the banks a species of freshwater mussel (Unio) called by the natives Maraylya, our joy was complete.

SUPERSTITIOUS FEELINGS OF KAIBER REGARDING MUSSELS.

I proceeded therefore to collect wood for my fire and ordered Kaiber to make haste and gather some of these mussels, an order which, considering the hungry state he was in, I imagined he would gladly have obeyed; but to my astonishment he refused positively to touch one of them, and evidently regarded them with a superstitious dread and abhorrence. My arguments to induce him to move were all thrown away; he constantly affirmed that if he touched these shellfish through their agency the Boyl-yas* would acquire some mysterious influence over him, which would end in his death. He could not state a recent instance of any ill effects having happened from handling or catching the mussel; but when I taunted him with this he very shrewdly replied that his inability to do so only arose from the fact of nobody being "wooden-headed enough" to meddle with them, and that he intended to have nothing whatever to do with them. This much he assured me was certain: that a very very long time ago some natives had eaten them, and that bad spirits had immediately killed them for so doing.

(*Footnote. The Boyl-ya is the native sorcerer.)

Kaiber was a great deal too sensible a fellow to be allowed to remain a prey to so ridiculous a superstition as this was; I therefore ordered him instantly to go and bring some of these mussels to me; that I intended to eat them, but that he could in this respect please himself. He hereupon, after thinking for a moment or two, got up to obey me, and walked away for this purpose; but I heard him, whilst occupied in the task, lamenting his fate most bitterly. It was true, he said, that he had not died either of hunger or thirst, but this was all owing to his courage and strong sinews, yet what would these avail against the supernatural powers of the boyl-yas. "They will eat me at night, whilst, worn out by fatigue, I must sleep." Amidst these and sundry other similar exclamations he brought the mussels to me: by this time my fire was prepared, and in a few minutes I was making such a meal as the weak state of my stomach would admit of. No inducement of mine could however prevail upon Kaiber to share with me, and I therefore handed him the remains of the cockatoo.

As soon as my repast was concluded I walked about three miles up the river in the hopes of getting a duck, Kaiber accompanying me. We saw several but killed none. There were some fine reaches in the river, as well as some good flats along its banks.

In the afternoon we travelled about three miles in a south by east direction, and then came to the bed of a small stream, which ran from east to west but was now merely a chain of pools. Across the bed where we passed it was a native weir. Our route during the whole evening lay over hills of a nature similar to those we passed yesterday. We did not halt until it was so dark that we could not see to walk, and then just dropped at the spot where we ceased to move.

DISTRESS FROM COLD.

The men made their fire and I lighted mine from theirs; but scarcely was this done ere the rain fell in torrents. I had no blankets or protection of any kind against this, and Kaiber was in the same predicament; so that when the fire was extinguished our position became pitiable in the extreme, for I know not if I ever before suffered so much from cold; and to add to my annoyance I every now and then heard Kaiber chattering to himself, under its effects, rather than singing:

Oh wherefore did he eat the mussels? Now the boyl-yas storms and thunder make; Oh wherefore would he eat the mussels?"

At last I so completely lost my temper that I roared out, "You stone-headed fellow, Kaiber, if you talk of mussels again, I'll beat you." "What spoke I this morning?" replied Kaiber; "you are stone-headed. We shall be dead directly; wherefore ate you the mussels?" This was beyond what my patience in my present starved state could endure, so I got up and began to grope about for a stick or something to throw in the direction of the chattering blockhead; but he begged me to remain quiet, promising faithfully to make no more mention of the mussels. I therefore squatted down, in a state of the most abject wretchedness.

CRIPPLED STATE OF THE MEN.

I nearly expired from cold and pain during this inclement night; the rheumatism in the hip in which I had been wounded was dreadful, and I lost the power of moving my extremities from cold. Kaiber must have suffered even more for he had nothing but a shirt on, whereas I had also a pair of trousers. The men were in somewhat better condition for they had a blanket, or rather a piece of one, between each two, and lying together they afforded one another mutual warmth. The long starvation which we had undergone had totally unfitted us all to cope with anything like cold.

April 19.

The rain and clouds protracted the morning dawn until late, which somewhat lengthened our miseries. As soon however as it was light enough to see our way we started, and moved slowly onwards in a south by east direction. The men were all completely crippled from the cold of the night, and it was with the greatest difficulty I could get either them or the native to move. My own energies were however only raised from these calls upon them, and I cheered them on as well as I could. Corporal Coles, my faithful and tried companion in all my wanderings, could scarcely crawl along. The flesh was completely torn away from one of his heels, and the irritation caused by this had produced a large swelling in the groin. Nothing but his own strong fortitude, aided by the encouragement given him by myself and his comrades, could have made him move under his great agony.

Still however we advanced slowly; other lives depended on our exertions; and whenever I reminded the men of this for a minute or two they quickened their pace. Pale, wasted, and weak, we still crawled onwards in the straight line for Perth, which I assured them they would reach on Saturday night or Sunday morning.

RIVER OF RUNNING WATER. PASS THE MOORE RIVER.

About two hours and a half after starting we crossed the southern branch of the Moore River, which was running strong; but the rain, which had only just ceased, prevented our being thirsty.

The whole of this day's route lay over hills similar to those we had found yesterday. We moved on, occasionally halting for a few minutes, until it was so dark we could no longer see, and then laid down, having again this day tasted no food.

MISERY FROM RAIN AND COLD.

It rained hard all night and our miseries of the last one were repeated. We were also less able to bear them, being weaker from longer abstinence. This day we travelled about one-and-twenty miles.

DESPONDING FEELINGS.

April 20.

This morning we rose again, weak and stiffened from the cold and wet; life had long ceased to have any charms for me, and I fancy that the others must have experienced a similar feeling. A disinclination to move pervaded the whole, and I had much the same desire to sink into the sleep of death, that one feels to take a second slumber of a morning after great fatigue. My life was not worth the magnitude of the effort that it cost me to move; but other lives depended on mine, so I rose up weak and giddy and by degrees induced the rest to start also. Poor Coles however was in a dreadful state.

The country through which we were travelling is intersected by a long line of lakes which run nearly parallel to the sea for a distance of about forty-five miles. One of the party had travelled in the same direction with me before, but we had then kept along the edge of the lakes. He had imagined however that they were only two or three miles distant from the sea, whereas many of them were as much as eight or ten. The route we were pursuing was about midway between the lakes and the sea, and this man seeing nothing of the lakes could not be convinced that I was right in the position I said we then were; for I assured the men they were not more than twenty-seven or twenty-eight miles to the north of Perth; but I heard him relating his doubts, which tended to discourage the others very much.

A PARTY OF NATIVES.

We however walked on as well as we could until near noon, at which time, from excessive weakness, we had not made more than eight miles, or about a mile and a quarter an hour, when we suddenly came out on the bed of a dried-up swamp, now looking like a desert of white sand studded with reeds. The forms of natives were seen wandering about this, one mile from us, who were searching for frogs. There was a very numerous party, and they did not appear at all inclined to approach us. Now it was very evident that if we were so near Perth as I imagined these natives must be well acquainted with Europeans; for although but very little was known of the country to the north of Perth, and the farthest settlement in that direction was only four miles from the town, still the natives must, from mere curiosity, have been frequently in the settlement.

JOYFUL INTERVIEW WITH A FRIENDLY TRIBE. KAIBER'S OPINION OF THEM.

We therefore approached them but as we came near they withdrew. Kaiber was now called into consultation; he scrutinised them long and carefully, and then announced that they were "mondak yoongar," wild natives; and, after a second survey of them, declared that they had the "mondak kurrang kombar," or great bush fury, on them, or rather, were subject to wild untutored rage. After making this announcement he squatted down under a bush to conceal himself, and then recapitulating rapidly all the dangers we had gone through, conjured me not to bring him into a fresh scrape by having anything to do with such a numerous party of his countrymen in our present weak state.

The men, who understood enough of what he was saying to know that he thought these natives had never seen Europeans, became extremely uneasy and begged me to allow them to fire a gun as a signal to them: "For if we are so near Perth as you suppose, Sir," they said to me, "these natives will come to us." Kaiber hereupon told me that the instant the gun was fired he should run away. This was rather too ridiculous a threat when the coward was afraid to move five yards from us; I therefore ordered a gun to be fired, and then, telling the men to remain steady and prepared in case of accident, I walked off towards the natives, Kaiber, in the meanwhile, sitting on his haunches under cover, muttering to himself, "The swan, the big head, the stone forehead;" and, as these denunciations reached me, I could not, even in all my misery, forbear smiling at them.

DISCOVERED TO BE FRIENDS.

The natives no sooner heard the gun and saw me approaching than they came running to me. Presently Kaiber called out to me, "Mr. Grey, Mr. Grey, nadjoo watto, nginnee yalga nginnow," "Mr. Grey, Mr. Grey, I am going to them; you sit here a little;" and he then, with his long thin ungainly legs, bounded by me like a deer. "Imbat, friend," I heard him cry out, as a young man came running up to him. I grew giddy; I knew Imbat by name, and felt assured that at all events the lives of a great portion of my party were safe. In a few minutes Kaiber had given an outline of our adventures and present state. Fearing such mischances as had really happened to me, I had, previously to my departure to the north, done my utmost to cultivate the friendship of the northern natives; and most of them, even to the distance of sixty or seventy miles from Perth in that direction, had received presents from me. My name was well known amongst them as a tried friend, although indeed my common denomination was "Wokeley brudder," or Oakley's brother; for, from my giving them flour, they concluded that I was a relation of the baker of that name at Perth.

HOSPITABLE RECEPTION BY THEM.

The women were soon called up, bark baskets of frogs opened for us, by-yu nuts roasted, and as a special delicacy I obtained a small fresh-water tortoise. "Now, friend, sleep whilst I cook," said Imbat, and lighting a fire he made me lie down and try to slumber whilst he roasted some frogs and the turtle for me. I was not over-well pleased at the skill he chose to exhibit in his cookery, for he thereby delayed me for a longer time than was agreeable, but we were all soon regaling on this native fare.

Anxious questions were put by the men as to their distance from Perth, and the natives all told them they would see it the next morning, "whilst the sun was still small;" and on further enquiry it turned out that a kangaroo hunter of the name of Porley was at a hut distant only seven miles from us, and according to the account of the natives he had a supply of provisions with him. As soon therefore as I had a little recruited my strength I started on with Imbat to the hut, leaving the men to follow in company with the other natives as rapidly as their strength would allow them. Imbat carried my gun and everything but a book or two and my papers, which, being precious documents, I had never trusted out of my own possession, however heavy my labours and misfortunes had been. He moved merrily along, trying to win me from my moody thoughts by relating all the news of the settlement both as concerned the Europeans and natives; for like all other idle people the natives are great gossips and really love a little scandal. Worn out from fatigue, I was rather petulant and ill-tempered, but Imbat talked on unmindful of this, or only laughed at me, and jeered me for it.

IMBAT'S NOTIONS.

My intentions in going on were to have everything prepared for the men on their arrival at the hut; but when I reached it I found it deserted, the owner having returned to Perth. I however lit a fire and laid down, Imbat again beginning to cook, and then chattering: "What for do you who have plenty to eat and much money walk so far away in the bush?" I felt amazingly annoyed at this question and therefore did not answer him. "You are thin," said he, "your shanks are long, your belly is small, you had plenty to eat at home, why did you not stop there?" I was vexed at his personalities, besides which it is impossible to make a native understand our love of travel. I therefore replied, "Imbat, you comprehend nothing, you know nothing." "I know nothing!" answered he; "I know how to keep myself fat; the young women look at me and say, Imbat is very handsome, he is fat. They will look at you and say, He not good, long legs, what do you know? where is your fat? what for do you know so much if you can't keep fat? I know how to stay at home and not to walk too far in the bush. Where is your fat?" "You know how to talk; long tongue;" was my reply; upon which Imbat, forgetting his anger, burst into a roar of laughter, and saying, "and I know how to make you fat," began stuffing me with frogs, barde, and by-yu nuts. The rest of the party arrived just before nightfall, and, searching the hut, found a paper of tea, and an old tin pot in which they cooked some, and then eating frogs, etc., for their supper, we all laid down to sleep, and in the silence of the night I rendered fervent thanks to my Maker who had again brought us so near the haven where we would be."

OPINIONS OF THE MEN REGARDING THE FATE OF OUR OTHER PARTY.

April 21.

It had rained all night but we had been a little sheltered by the hut; though from the state of anxiety we were in sleep did not visit our eyes. This was the first time since I had been out that I had slept so near the men as to be able to overhear their conversation; but the rain forced us all to seek the shelter of the same little hut, and I thus gathered the different stories that they narrated to one another. Their speculations and conjectures naturally ran upon our absent comrades; some imagined that they were within a day or two's march of us, but another party held firmly to the opinion that we should never see them more.

SUPERSTITIONS OF MY MEN.

They could give no apparently satisfactory reason for holding this opinion, and, as there was evidently some deep mystery connected with it, I kept on pressing my servant Coles in order to induce him to tell me whence it arose. At last it came out that Mr. Walker had had a dream, when we were on the shores of Shark Bay and before we had commenced our return home, that some dreadful misfortune had befallen us and that Mr. Smith, Thomas Ruston, and he himself, were endeavouring to make the Isle of France in a boat, when Mr. Smith died, and the remaining two had eaten his body. Mr. Walker had, with the utmost imprudence, related this dream to some of the men, and they, with that superstition which is so common amongst sailors and Englishmen of the lower orders, had attached a great degree of importance to it; many circumstances which had hitherto been unexplained to me now flashed upon my mind; poor Mr. Smith had been very ill at the time Mr. Walker had related this inauspicious dream, and at that period an extraordinary degree of despondency had crept over him, so much so that some of the men imagined he had become deranged. When also we were working our way down the eastern coast of Shark Bay in the boats others of the party had got into a very desponding state, one of whom, Henry Woods, had even gone so far as to tell me when I remonstrated with him on this point that he knew that the greater part of us wore doomed, and that our lives were worth nothing.

My anxiety for those I had left behind me now increased, and about an hour and a half before daylight I started for Perth with Imbat, leaving the others to follow as rapidly as they could, and telling them that I would have food ready for them at Williams's cottage, who was the settler living farthest north from Perth. In about an hour and a half I reached Williams's hut, which I entered, and found his wife and another woman at breakfast.

I had often got a drink of milk at this cottage when I had before been at Perth, and I flattered myself that Mrs. Williams would recollect me; little calculating how strangely want and suffering had changed my appearance. The two women only stared with the utmost surprise and said, "Why, Magic, what's the matter with you?" (They alluded to a crazy Malay who used to visit the outsettler's houses, and who had somehow or the other acquired the nickname of Magic.) I was rather hurt at my reception and said, "I am not Magic;" at this they both burst into a roar of laughter and Mrs. Williams said, "Well, then, my good man, who are you?" "One who is almost starved," was my reply. "Will you take this then," said my hostess, handing me a cup of tea she was raising to her lips. "With all my heart and soul, and God reward you for it," was my answer, and I swallowed the delicious draught. Imbat, who had been to search for Williams, now came in and explained who I was; in a few minutes more I was seated at a comfortable breakfast; water was put on to boil, and by the time the things were prepared the rest of the party came up.

ARRIVAL AND RECEPTION AT PERTH. NOT RECOGNIZED BY MY FRIENDS.

I now washed and made myself as clean as possible. I could obtain no conveyance to take us on to Perth and therefore started to walk in with Imbat, leaving the others to complete their breakfast; but I soon found myself dreadfully ill from having eaten too profusely; still I pushed on as well as I could, and in about an hour and a half reached the house of my friend, L. Samson, Esquire. He could not believe it was me whom he beheld, but having convinced himself of the fact he made me swallow about a tea-spoonful of brandy, and, recruited by this, I was sufficiently recovered to wait upon His Excellency the Governor in order to have immediate steps taken to send off a party in search of my missing comrades.

The Governor could scarcely credit his sight when he beheld the miserable object that stood before him; but in this as in all other instances in which I have known him the goodness of his heart shone conspicuous; not only was every kindness shown me but immediate steps were taken to forward assistance to those who were still in the bush. Having thus far performed my duty I retired to press a bed once more, having for nearly three consecutive months slept in the open air, on the ground just at the spot where my day's hardship had terminated. So changed was I that those of my friends who had heard of my arrival and were coming to congratulate me passed me in the street, whilst others to whom I went up and held out my hand drew back in horror and said, "I beg your pardon, who are you?"

Ere I was in bed the remainder of the men who were journeying with me arrived, and it had thus pleased Providence to conduct six of us through great suffering and want to the termination of our miseries.

CHAPTER 5. FROM WATER PEAK TO PERTH.

(MR. WALKER'S PARTY.)

PARTY SENT IN SEARCH FROM PERTH.

I arrived at Perth on the 21st of April and not a moment was lost in preparing a party to go in search of the men I had left with Mr. Walker, and who, it will be recollected, were instructed to proceed along the coast until they made the Moore River, where assistance was to be sent out to them from Perth.

SEARCH FOR THE OTHER PARTY.

Accordingly on the 23rd of April Lieutenant Mortimer of the 21st regiment and Mr. Spofforth, with four soldiers, left Perth and arrived on the Moore River in two days; but after traversing its banks in vain for two days more they abandoned all hope of finding those they were in search of there, and pursued a straight course about 25 miles further north, when they fell in with another river where they formed a depot, and detours were made in various directions for several days without any avail.

RETURN WITH CHARLES WOODS.

At length, on one of these excursions, the seaman Charles Woods, one of my party, was found by Mr. Spofforth, lying on the beach, wrapped in his blanket and fast asleep. He soon awoke and was not a little delighted to recognise Mr. Spofforth whom he had seen before at Fremantle. By the account Woods gave it appears that from the period of my departure much disorder and discontent at the direction of their course prevailed among the men. They frequently left the beach and wandered inland to procure water and food, not sufficiently exerting themselves to advance southward. They had succeeded, he said, in procuring upon the whole about a dozen birds, a crab, and eighteen fish. On the 21st of April Mr. Walker, who had frequently exerted himself in procuring firewood and water for the weaker of the party, divided two dough cakes still remaining in his possession among them all. They were then upon the beach, and though still at a great distance from the appointed place of rendezvous the men were very unwilling to distress themselves to reach it, being persuaded they should be tracked, wherever they might be, by the natives whom I should send to their help. Woods, being dissatisfied with their slow progress, now quitted them at a place where, he says, they had to go round two very deep bays close together, which took him a whole day; and it was owing to his having obeyed my instructions more strictly than the others that he was found by Mr. Spofforth. Woods, who seemed to have a singularly accurate idea of the distance he was from Perth when found, added that he thought he could have walked to it had he not been discovered, although he had nothing to eat but a few native figs; and that he thought the whole of the party were getting more accustomed to native food and were latterly better than they had been at first; he said he felt so himself.

SECOND PARTY IN SEARCH, UNDER MR. ROE.

Lieutenant Mortimer's party, having made every exertion but in vain to find the five remaining persons, were compelled at the end of a fortnight by want of provisions to return to Perth, where they arrived on the 6th of May; and early the next morning the Surveyor-General, Mr. Roe, accompanied by Mr. Spofforth (who again volunteered his services) four men, and two native youths, with five horses, set out in search of those still missing.

ARRIVAL OF MR. WALKER AT PERTH. JOURNAL OF MR. WALKER'S PARTY.

On the 9th of May, two days after the departure of Mr. Roe's party, Mr. Walker came into Perth alone, and from his statement, together with what was gleaned subsequently from the other men, I shall here briefly narrate what befel them after my departure on the 10th of April.

NARRATIVE OF THEIR PROCEEDINGS FROM WATER PEAK.

On the next day they started at dawn and soon came to a great deal of scrub; this was the belt of thick wood mentioned in my journal. Mr. Walker says the men, being disheartened at this, they went down to the beach and halted about a mile from it; Water Peak Hill being distant about fifteen miles. Woods said much discontent was caused amongst the men by its being conceived that they were following a bad course; or, according to Ruston's expression, that "the steering was very bad."

April 12.

They found a river with pools of water in coarse gravel in which they caught here two small fish, and travelled six miles through the scrub along a native path.

April 13.

They started and went down towards the beach. The men cut and cooked some greens but found no water. Travelled twelve or fourteen miles along the beach.

Sunday April 14.

They shot a pigeon, two red-bills, and a hawk. In the afternoon it rained, and they travelled along the beach and got some cockles, and found a fine stream of water running out from under the rocks. They then got under the scrub to keep the rain off, having made about eight miles.

April 15.

They again came out on the beach and kept along it. Good travelling. Made a march of nearly twenty miles.

EXTREME DISTRESS FROM HUNGER AND THIRST.

April 16.

They continued on the beach till they came to a good place for fishing and caught eighteen. Mr. Walker shot a bird. After eating the fish, they were all very thirsty.

April 17.

Went into the interior about midday and found a native well six miles inland; also a large cave in the rocks. The party here procured and ate some Zamia nuts.

April 18.

They were all sick from the nuts, and turned back to the beach about four miles but did not reach it.

April 19.

This morning they reached the beach and travelled on until they came to some high rocks from whence they saw an immense tract of sand. Again this evening they went into the interior to find water. Boiled some young trees and ate them.

April 20.

They were travelling into the interior along the steep banks of a river running nearly east. Got plenty of green stuff to eat. They had now two guns and the means of getting fire, but the powder and shot was nearly expended. The axe I left with them had been lost soon after.

April 21.

Woods left the others to proceed alone.

April 22.

Being the day after Woods left they went into the interior about six miles from the coast and there found a river, which Mr. Walker and Mr. Smith thought was the Karpan (the Moore). This river was standing in pools, and there was a great rush of water from the hills; they traced the bed up for two or three miles, where it came out from some very high hills, when Mr. Smith said he was certain that it was not the Karpan. They then made a south by west course, and thought where they came out was 12 miles below where Woods left them; and that the river was nearly halfway between these two points.

They now again turned into the interior, being, as they thought, at the bay to the south of Jurieu Bay.

April 23.

They returned and kept along the beach, made about fifteen miles, when they halted close to it.

April 24.

They went on for five or six miles, then halted and made a fire with the end of a spar.

April 25.

They travelled two or three hundred yards. Mr. Walker went back for the end of the spar and Mr. Smith cut some firewood. There they halted, catching fish and crabs.

April 26 and 27.

Still halted at this spot, fishing, and caught parrot-fish, rock-cod, etc.; so that they had as much fish as they could use, and found fresh water in the holes of the rocks.

April 28.

They started at dawn and went on for a mile. Ruston was taken ill from the number of crabs he had eaten, and Mr. Walker stopped with him whilst the other three went on a mile ahead and got fish and periwinkles. Mr. Smith, Stiles, and Clotworthy had a little water left; Ruston and Mr. Walker had canteens half-full. Ruston got better in the evening but they did not proceed until the next morning.

April 29.

Mr. Walker moved on with Ruston about a mile and there found Mr. Smith clambering up some rocks, and having plenty of periwinkles, of which he gave them some. Clotworthy had stopped up all night and had picked up enough for four or five days. At night at low tide they got nearly fresh water running out from under the rocks.

April 30.

They still halted, living on the periwinkles; but this evening the water was more salt.

May 1.

This day the party separated into two portions and did not meet again until the 2nd, on which day Mr. Walker left them by agreement, he being the strongest of the party. His object was to proceed as expeditiously as he could to Fremantle and send from thence a boat and fresh water for the relief of the rest. The party he left behind having agreed to keep a constant look out on the beach and hoist concerted signals.

For two days after Mr. Walker left them it appears they wandered about to look for water and then fished. They fortunately fell in with a cask of water, washed up on the beach, from which they filled their canteens, roasted the fish and started on again, but made no distance. This lasted for several days. They subsisted by picking up a few shellfish and some dead birds which had been washed ashore, and they ate a sort of cane that grows near the beach, and the Hottentot fig.

DEATH OF MR. SMITH.

Mr. Smith now gradually became exhausted, and at last one evening sat down on a bank, and said he could not go on. He was behind the party with Ruston, who thought he was dying, and went on and told the other men. The next morning Ruston went back to try and find where Mr. Smith was, but was so weak that (as he thought) he did not go far enough, and did not find him. Mr. Smith seems to have crawled up into the bush, a little on one side of their route, and there died.

TIMELY DISCOVERY OF THE REST BY MR. ROE. MR. ROE'S REPORT.

Four days after the rest were picked up by Mr. Roe's party, whose proceedings I shall now relate from his own interesting report; premising that the men had then been three days without water and four days without food, and had nothing to eat but the sweet cane that grows near the beach.

MR. ROE PROCEEDS IN SEARCH OF THE MISSING MEN.

Mr. Roe says:

Leaving Perth early on the 8th instant, accompanied by Mr. E. Spofforth and four men, with the native youths Warrup and Wyip, and five horses, we travelled in a north by west direction along a chain of beautiful lakes, from three to ten miles apart, and surrounded by good soil and grass to a short distance; and in the middle of the third day reached Neergabby on the Garban River, about 52 miles distant. Giving our horses an hour's rest, I rode forward twelve miles with Mr. Spofforth and Warrup to the mouth of the river, where we hoped to find some traces of the absentees; but to our disappointment and regret not a footmark was to be seen on the sand except those of Woods, and the written directions which had been placed conspicuously on sticks so as to intercept the track of the wanderers were either untouched or washed down by the high tides. Replacing these with full instructions how to proceed, we returned to our camp at Neergabby, where we were joined by some natives of the district, from whom however no information whatever could be obtained respecting the objects of our search. Inferring from these circumstances that they could not yet have reached so far south, and that they might probably have quitted the beach for the purpose of seeking fresh water inland, we lost no time in pushing on to the northward, and at sunset of the 11th took up our bivouac at Barrumbur on the Moore River, seventeen miles in advance, where excellent water was found in deep pools and our horses revelled in luxuriant pasturage. Between the two rivers there is a great extent of level country, so much under water in wet weather as to be then totally impassable with horses or carts, and the beds of the rivers (near which there is generally good cattle feed) assume the form of deep sandy pools, a few yards apart and grooved to the depth of 25 or 30 feet below the level of the banks.

Being desirous of penetrating the country further to the north before we again visited the beach, which was computed to be about fifteen miles distant with no water or feed for our horses in the intermediate space, we buried half our provisions, etc., in a hole beneath our temporary shelter, which was then fired in order to lull the suspicion of the natives; and our sable companions having secreted the pannier-baskets and packsaddles among the adjoining bushes in such a way as to defy discovery, we trusted to Providence for the result, and next morning resumed our northern route. Leaving the extensive shallow lakes of Garbanup, at this time quite dry, about two miles on our left, we traversed a more hilly and dry sandy district than before, and had an elevated mountainous country fifteen or twenty miles to the eastward. We had now entered upon the inhospitable tract in which Mr. Grey and his party had been so much distressed for water on the homeward journey, and their feet-marks were distinctly recognised by our natives around a swampy space in search of some. At the end of sixteen miles we reached Nowergup, a small rushy lake, at this time quite dry and dusty at the surface, but having at its north end a small well, seven feet deep, containing about a gallon of stinking water. Although this proved very palatable after a dry day's journey, it was by no means adapted to the wants of five horses, and we gladly accepted the services of one of the natives of the district to conduct us to a larger quantity. Our way to it led over a mile and a quarter of nearly level country, entirely under water in winter, and covered with rushes and tea-trees. At the lowest level was a well with abundance of water two feet below the surface, near which we immediately took up our quarters and learnt that the spot was called by them Bookernyup. We were also given to understand that the country to the northward and westward was at this time of the year entirely without water, and that none was to be found nearer than a river "far away" in the north-east.

This account by no means lessened our fears for the poor fellows of whom we were in search, and led us to determine on leaving the party here, and making a forced march of two or three days to the north-west with the smallest possible supplies, in the hope of reaching the spot where the absentees had been left by Woods, and which we supposed to be the vicinity of Jurieu Bay.

SUCCEEDS IN FINDING THEIR TRACES.

Previous however to putting this plan into execution, it was considered advisable to visit the beach again, fifteen or sixteen miles distant, on doing which next morning, with Mr. Spofforth and Warrup, we had the satisfaction to find the feet-marks of five men on the sand, taking a southerly direction. Warrup having pronounced them to be without doubt the footsteps of white men, and not more than two or three days old, we followed them eagerly along the shore for a mile, and then came to an empty cask that had been washed on shore, together with several broken bottles and a stone jar. On further examination part of the head of the cask was found much cut with a knife, as if used for a plate, and near the extinct embers of a small fire lay the bones of a fish, which Warrup concluded had been picked on the morning of the previous day. Rejoiced at having now got upon the right track, and being unwilling to lose time by following it up from this spot, we took a good look round and returned to our camp at Bookernyup by sunset, from whence we next morning started early in a southerly direction, took up safely everything we had concealed on the Moore River, and shortly after dark had completed 24 miles to a place called Kadjelup, where we halted on some deep pools similar to those at Barrumbur.

Breakfasting early on the 15th, the baggage was despatched forward to Neergabby, and at daybreak Mr. Spofforth, Kinchela (a private of the 21st regiment) and Warrup accompanied me on horseback to the beach, which we found eleven miles off, but to our great disappointment a very high tide had totally obliterated all marks from the sand and left us in perplexity and doubt. Concluding however that the missing party must be in advance of us, and that they could not fail to observe the papers which had been offered to their notice at the mouth of the Garban River, we turned our steps that way; left a paper of directions in the event of their being behind us, and carefully examined both beach and sandhills, as well as the country immediately in rear of them. Twelve miles brought us to the mouth of the river, and there we found everything as we had placed it—not a mark near the beach except the footsteps of the native dog prowling about the sandhills, and nothing which could lead to a belief that the spot had been visited since we last left it. Somewhat disappointed, although rejoicing in having now hemmed the unfortunate absentees up into a narrow limit, within which we knew they MUST be wandering towards Perth, we joined our party at Neergabby shortly after dark, and observed on our way the traces of five natives who were confidently said by Warrup to be Perth natives, sent to look after us with intelligence. They had come along the coast from the south as far as the mouth of the river, and had struck inland to the south-east on their return. The conclusions of this intelligent lad on the occasion were afterwards found to be strictly correct, even to the names of the men who composed the party.

PROVIDENTIAL DISCOVERY OF THEM.

The early morning of the 16th found us all in busy preparation for the day's proceedings and relying with reasonable confidence on a successful issue to our exertions. The remainder of the party were sent back with one horse to Kadjelup, whilst my indefatigable companion Mr. Spofforth accompanied me, with Kinchela and the two natives and four horses, to resume our examination of the beach to the north. Fifteen miles in a north-west direction brought us to the desired spot, but still no sign was apparent of its having been visited by any human being since ourselves; we however commenced a close examination to the northward, and at the end of a mile and a half had the infinite satisfaction of falling in with three of the missing party, in the persons of Ruston, Stiles, and Clotworthy, who had formed a portion of the wrecked boats' crews.

THEIR MISERABLE CONDITION.

The state of distress and exhaustion in which they were found on the beach was truly pitiable and moving. With scarcely strength to drag one foot after the other they had marched about a mile and a half that morning until they encountered the bold rocky projection of land at which we discovered them, and the passing of which they had given up as utterly hopeless from want of sufficient strength to climb over it. Having been three days without water except their own and the seawater, the former of which they had saved in their canteens, and emptied out before us, and their only food being such nourishment as they could obtain from chewing a coarse rushy plant which grew about high-water mark, it cannot be matter of surprise that they were almost frantic after water, and that the portions of it which we sparingly administered to them, mixed with a little brandy, were most eagerly seized. Indeed the greatest firmness and forbearance were necessary on our part to prevent the unfortunate sufferers from committing fatal excesses. They declared their extremity to have been so great that no chance had appeared to them of surviving the next awful night, or of getting a foot beyond their present position; and, to his credit be it said, one of them* had been on his knees only ten minutes before they were rescued, supplicating with uplifted hands that aid and assistance which had thus, through Divine Providence, been so opportunely afforded them.

(*Footnote. Ruston.)

SEARCH FOR MR. SMITH.

In answer to our anxious enquiries respecting Mr. Walker and Mr. Smith we learnt that the former, being much the strongest of the party, had, at their request, made the best of his way towards Perth ten days since, in order to send them out assistance, and that Mr. Smith, having been totally unable to proceed with them any further, had remained behind, in a dying state, four days ago. Touched by this distressing intelligence, and sensibly alive to the value of time, we lost not a moment in lifting our three light weights on our horses, and by supporting them in their seats conveyed them over the sandhills to the more level space behind, where sufficient brushwood was scattered about for maintaining a fire. Here Mr. Spofforth kindly undertook their charge, while I should proceed with Kinchela and Warrup in search of poor Smith.

Ruston having expressed himself very anxious to accompany us, and fearing that we might not otherwise accomplish our object, after receiving some suitable refreshment, he was mounted, and we all set off at as quick a pace as he could manage. At the end of three miles a good view of the coast to the northward was opened to us from the summit of a rising ground, and Ruston pointed out, at the distance of 24 miles, an island near which he said young Smith had been left. As this was far beyond the six or seven miles of which they had at first spoken, and totally precluded the possibility of my returning that night with the water-kegs which I had taken to be filled at some wells which they had seen in the vicinity, I relinquished all idea of proceeding, while the sun was then touching the horizon, and we accordingly rejoined Mr. Spofforth and his charge. We were now perfectly satisfied of the wandering inconsistency in the conversation of the three rescued men, who were evidently to a considerable extent delirious or light-headed. Being too sore in body and excited in mind to admit much sleep to their assistance, they were full of their expressions of thankfulness for their timely deliverance, and at length terminated a long and weary night.

DISCOVERY OF HIS BODY.

The morrow's dawn found me on my way with Kinchela and Warrup to search for poor Smith, while Mr. Spofforth proceeded with the three rescued men and Wyip to join our party at Kadjelup, 12 miles off. At the distance of a mile and a half we found the guns of Mr. Walker and Mr. Smith, which the men had buried among the sandhills from inability to carry them any further. A close scrutiny of the beach brought us, at the end of ten miles, to a spot where Warrup observed the traces of feet in the sand. Following them up, they ascended a bare sandhill to the height of twelve or fourteen feet, turned short round to the left, and there terminated at the unfortunate object of our search, extended on his back, lifeless, in the midst of a thick bush, where he seemed to have laid himself down to sleep, half-enveloped in his blanket. The poor fellow's last bed appeared to have been selected by himself; and at the distance of three or four yards from him lay all the trifling articles which had constituted his travelling equipage. These were his wooden canteen, his brown felt hat, and haversack, containing his journal, shoes, tinder, steel, gun-screw, a few small canvas bags which he had used for carrying shellfish, and a small bag with thread, needles, and buttons. Life seemed to have been extinct rather more than two days; and from the position of the head, which had fallen considerably below the level of the body, we were led to conclude that a rush of blood into the brain had caused his death, and at last without much suffering.

BURIAL OF MR. SMITH.

With the help of the soldier and Warrup we made a grave with our hands and buried poor Smith deep in a sandhill near the shore, about seventy-six miles to the north of Swan River. Even Warrup, notwithstanding the general apathy of the native character, wept like a child over the untimely fate of this young man, from whom he had formerly received kindness. Smoothing over his solitary bed, and placing at the head of his grave a piece of wood found upon the beach, we pursued our melancholy way half a mile to the northward, where we found the water to which we had been directed by digging 12 inches in the sand at the commencement of a considerable sheet of bare sand, extending at least four miles into the interior. In the course of the evening we rejoined our party on the Moore River. Next day we halted at Kadjelup; and on the 19th we separated at Neergabby once more, Mr. Spofforth to conduct the remainder of the party home with as much celerity as they could travel, whilst I proceeded with Kinchela and Warrup to examine the coast from the mouth of the Moore River for any traces of Mr. Walker, of whose fate we were in total ignorance. By noon of the 22nd we had arrived within 12 miles of Perth without remarking the least trace of the supposed absentee, when we were met by Mr. Hunt the constable with the pleasing intelligence that Mr. Walker had reached Perth on the 9th instant. In the evening we arrived at the same place, and found that Mr. Spofforth had brought in his charge the day before.

...

CONCLUSION OF THE EXPEDITION.

If Mr. Roe's party had been delayed only a few hours there is every probability that from the debilitated state in which the men were found they would all have perished.

I deeply regretted the death of poor Frederic Smith, who had come out from England expressly for the purpose of joining me, led solely by the spirit of enterprise, and not with any view of settling. He was the most youthful of the party, being only 18 years of age, and thence was less capable than the others of bearing up against long-continued want and fatigue, and the excessive heat of the climate, under which he gradually wasted away until death terminated his sufferings. When aroused by danger or stimulated by a sense of duty he was as bold as a lion, whilst his manner to me was ever gentleness itself, as indeed it was to all.*

(*Footnote. He was the eldest son of Octavius Smith, Esquire, of Thames Bank, and grandson of the late William Smith, Esquire, long known in political life as Member for Norwich.)

Upon the final return of the expedition a desire was expressed by some gentlemen of the colony of Western Australia to remove Mr. Smith's remains to Perth; but upon mature reflection I declined their friendly proposal, preferring rather to let him rest close by the spot where he died, having given the name of my ill-fated friend to a river which hides itself in the sandy plains near where he fell so early a sacrifice to his gallant and enterprising spirit.

CHAPTER 6. SUMMARY OF DISCOVERIES.

RIVERS AND MOUNTAIN RANGES DISCOVERED.

Having now brought the narrative of my expedition along the western shores of Australia to a close I shall here retrace in a brief summary the principal geographical discoveries to which it led.

The country examined during this expedition lies between Cape Cuvier and Swan River, having for its longitudinal limits the parallel of 24 degrees and that of 32 degrees south latitude, and the expedition combined two objects: the examination and nautical survey of such parts of the coast lying between these limits as were imperfectly known, and the exploration of such parts of the continent as might on examination appear worthy of particular notice.

RIVERS DISCOVERED.

In the course of my explorations ten rivers, which are, when considered with reference to the other known ones of Western Australia, of considerable importance, were discovered, some of them being larger than any yet found in the south-west of this continent; many smaller streams were also found.

The larger rivers I have named:

The Gascoyne, The Murchison, The Hutt, The Bowes, The Buller, The Chapman, The Greenough, The Irwin, The Arrowsmith, The Smith.

Two mountain ranges were discovered; one at the northern extremity of the Darling Range and about thirty miles to the eastward of it, lofty and altogether differing in character from the Darling, which at this point, where its direction is nearly north and south, is called Moresby's Flat-topped Range.

I have taken the liberty of naming this northern range, after her most gracious Majesty, The Victoria Range; and the extensive district of fertile country extending from its base to the sea, and having a length of more than fifty miles in a north and south direction, I have also named the Province of Victoria, trusting that her Majesty will not object to bestow her name upon one of the finest provinces in this her new, vast, and almost unknown empire; and which, protected in its very birth and infancy by her fostering hand, will doubtless ere long attain to no mean destiny among the nations of the earth.

The other range is thrown off in a westerly direction from the Darling Range; it is about forty miles in length from north to south, of a bare, sterile, and barren nature, and terminates seaward in Mount Perron and Mount Lesueur; to this range I have given the name of Gairdner's Range: it forms a very important feature in the geography of this part of Australia.

DISTRICTS OF BABBAGE AND VICTORIA.

Three extensive districts of good country were also found in the course of this expedition, the Province of Victoria, before alluded to, the district of Babbage, and another adjacent to Perth, to which I have not affixed a name.

The district of Babbage is situated on and near the river Gascoyne, which stream discharges itself in the central part of the main that fronts Shark Bay, and may indeed almost be recorded as the central point of the western coast of Australia; thus at once occupying the most commanding position in Shark Bay and one of the most interesting points on that coast; it is moreover the key to a very fine district which is the only one in that vast inlet that appears well adapted to the purposes of colonization.

COAST OF SHARK BAY.

Immediately to the south of the southern mouth of this river commences a line of shoals which at low-water are nearly dry, extending to a distance of from two to four miles from the coast and running with scarcely any intermission round the bay: except at high-water it is therefore impossible to approach the greater part of the coast, even in the smallest boat, unless by tracking it over those flats, which proceeding is not unattended with danger, for, if it comes on to blow at all hard, owing to the shoalness of the water, the whole of them becomes a mass of broken billows. I feel convinced it was owing to this circumstance that the navigators who had previously visited this bay left so large a portion of its coast unexplored.

The shoals in the vicinity of the mouth of this river, as well as those in the river itself, have many snags upon them; and on the coast of Bernier Island, opposite to the main, we found the remains of large trees which had been washed down the river and had then been drifted across the bay. It was that circumstance which first convinced me that a large river existed hereabouts, and induced me so minutely to examine the coast.

This occurrence of driftwood in the neighbourhood of large rivers is a circumstance unknown upon the south-western shores of this continent. I however observed it in Prince Regent's River and other rivers to the north, as well as in the Arrowsmith. This latter however is the most southern river in which I have remarked it, and it certainly is an evidence of the existence of timber of a much lighter description than has hitherto been known in this part of the continent.

MOUTHS OF THE GASCOYNE.

The southern mouth of the Gascoyne is however completely free from shoals, and has seven feet water on the bar at low tide. There is also a channel in it which has never less than this depth of water for about four miles from its mouth, after which it is only navigable for small boats in the dry season, and that merely for a short distance.

The greatest difficulty which presents itself in entering the southern mouth arises from what in America are termed snags, that is, large trees, the roots of which are firmly planted in the bed of the river, whilst the branches project up the stream, and are likely to pierce any boat in its passage down. These snags are however more to be feared at the time of high-water than at any other period, for they have generally become fixed upon shoals as they originally descended the river, and at low water can easily be seen.

The northern mouth of the Gascoyne is more difficult of entrance than its southern one, being narrower and more shoal. I still however think that at high water it could be entered by small craft; but as my examination of it was hurried and imperfect from our being pressed for provisions at the time I was there, the opinion I have given above must be received with caution.

Our visit to this river took place at the close of a season which had been preceded by the driest one known since the occupation of the western coasts by Europeans. There was consequently but little fresh water in the bed of the river, and this only in small pools; but the breadth of its main channel (for it sometimes had several) was where I measured it upwards of three hundred yards, and this measurement was made in a part which was by no means the widest.

THE COUNTRY ADJACENT.

The bed of the river was composed of fine white sand. The country had a gentle slope from the interior, and no land of any great elevation was visible from the farthest point I attained, distant about fifteen miles from the coast.

Plains of a rich reddish loam bordered the river on each side. These were occasionally broken by low, gently-rounded hills, composed of the same soil. Freshwater lagoons, frequented by wild-fowl, were found in several places; and during the course of my walks, which extended for several miles in various directions, I saw no termination to this good land except on approaching the sea, where the salt marshes always commenced; but along the southern bank of the river, to the point where its mouth actually disembogued into the open bay, the land was of a fertile description: the country, even in the dry season, during which we were there, being covered with rich grass.