Part 17 (1/2)

Here again ere introduced by our long-legged friend, who kept pace with our animals with ease, and after a short parley once ed to stop with another tribe, rather more numerous than the last, ere encamped on a dirty little puddle of water that was hardly drinkable; however, they very kindly asked us to stay and sleep, an honour I begged to decline Thus, in the space of less than five miles, ere introduced to four different tribes, whose collective numbers amounted to seventy-one The huts of these natives were constructed of boughs, and were of the usual for those of the last tribe, which were open behind, forhs, and the effect was very pretty

These good folks also asked us to stop, and I thought I saw an expression of iuide when I declined, and turnedon a sandy kind of bank, higher than the flooded ground around us The plains extended on either side to the north and east, nor could we distinctly trace the creek beyond the trees at the point we had crossed it, but there were a few guhtly marked its course When we left the last tribe, we rode towards a sand hill about half a one froht I suppose Ia-head of us disappeared over the sand hill I was too well aware of the customs of these people, not to anticipate that there was so behind the scene, and I told Mr Stuart that I felt satisfied we had not yet seen the whole of the population of this creek; but I was at a loss to conjecture why they should have squatted down at such nificent sheets of water for thereat distance; however, we reached the hill soon after the natives had gone over it, and on gaining the su shout by 3 or 400 natives, ere assembled in the flat below I do not know, that ratified than on this occasion, for I had never before coe a party The scene was one of the most ani from the circumstance of the native huts, at which there were a nu the whole crest of a long piece of rising ground at the opposite side of the flat

I checked azed on the asse so small a space that I could have enclosed the whole under a casting net, and then quietly rode down into the flat, followed by Mr Stuart and ave my horse when I dismounted, and then walked to the natives, by whom Mr Stuart and myself were immediately surrounded

Had these people been of an unfriendly temper, we could not by any possibility have escaped them, for our horses could not have broken into a canter to save our lives or their own We were therefore wholly in their power, although happily for us perhaps, they were not aware of it; but, so far froenuine hospitality, and we ht certainly have coe troughs of water, and e had taken a little, held them up for our horses to drink; an instance of nerve that is very re never seen or heard of a horse before, and with the natural apprehension the first sight of such an animal would create,) would deliberately have walked up to whatthe troughs they carried against their breast, have allowed the horses to drink, with their noses al them They likewise offered us some roasted ducks, and some cake When alked over to their cae new hut, and told us we could sleep there, but I had noticed a little hillock on which there were four box-trees, about fifty yards froo no farther, I had already deter this to the natives they appeared highly delighted; we accordingly went to the trees, and unsaddling our animals turned them out to feed When the natives saw us quietly seated they caht a quantity of sticks for us toextremely scarce

The men of this tribe were, without exception, the finest of any I had seen on the Australian Continent Their bodies were not disfigured by any scars, neither were their countenances by the loss of any teeth, nor were they circumcised They were a well-made race, with a sufficiency of muscular development, and stood as erect as it was possible to do, without the unseeenerality of natives Of sixty-nine who I counted round ht, 5 feet 10 3/4 inches, but there were several upwards of 6 feet The children were also very fine, and I thought healthier and better grown than st smaller tribes, that the female children were more numerous than the males, why such should be the case, it is difficult to say Whilst, however, I a the personal appearance of the men, I am sorry to say I observed but little improvement in the fairer sex They were the sa creatures whose condition I have so often pitied elsewhere

These were a hted at our visit, and if one or two of them were a little forward, I laid it to the account of curiosity and a feeling of confidence in their own nu checked them, nor did they venture to touch our persons, much less to put their hands into our pockets, as the natives appear to have done, in the case of another explorer It is a liberty I never allowed any native to take, not only because I did not like it, but because I a the whitethose feelings of awe and inferiority, which are the European's best security against ill treatment The natives told us, that there was no water to the eastward, and that if ent there we should all die They explained that the creek coers as the old e one, pointing to the creek, and they said the water was all gone to the place we had co thens, if the creek continued beyond the plains, they shook their heads, and again put their extended hand on the ground, pointing to the plain They could give us no account of the ranges to which I proposed going, any , if there was any water to the north-west a long discussion took place, and it was ultimately decided that there was not I could understand, that several of theht be water, but it was evidently the general opinion that there was none Neither did they appear to know of any large waters, on which the natives had canoes, in confir and inorant

The smallness of the water-hole, on which these people depended, was quite a matter of surprise to me, and I hardly liked to let the horses drink at it, in consequence At sunset all the natives left us (as is their wont at that hour), and went to their own encampment; nor did one approach us afterwards, but they sat up to a late hour at their own ca the seed for cakes, between two stones, and the noise theyof a loo line of fires, looked exceedingly pretty, and the dusky figures of the natives standing by the from one hut to the other, had the effect of a fine scene in a play At 11 all was still, and you would not have known that you were in such close contiguity to so large an assee of people

When I laid down, I revolved inIf the account of the natives was correct, it was clear that ress eastward, was at an end My horses, indeed, were now reduced to such a state, that I foresawto a close Mack, too, was so ill, that he could hardly sit his ani serious in his case, anything tending to ean held up well, but I feltdaily weaker and weaker I found that I could not rise into oing up a bank of only a few feet in height I determined, however, on mature consideration, to examine the plain, and to satisfy myself before I should turn back, as to the fact of the creek co, we saddled and loaded our horses, but none of the natives came to us until we had mounted; when they approached to take leave, and to persuade us not to go in the direction we proposed, but to no purpose The pool from which they drew their supply of water, was in the centre of a broad shallow grassy channel, that passed the point of the sand hill we had ascended, and ran up to the northward and ard; ere, therefore, obliged to cross this channel, and soon afterwards got on the plains They were evidently subject to flood, and were exceedingly soft and blistered; the grass upon therew in tufts, not close, so that in the distance, the plains appeared better grassed than they really were At length, we got on a polygonureat size, in the soil of which our horses absolutely sunk up to the shoulder at every step I never rode over such a piece of ground in th we got on the somewhat firmer but still heavy plain It was very clear, however, that our horses would not go a day's journey over such ground

It looked exactly as I have described it--an i down fro for the creek as a centre of union; nor, could we anywhere see a terht have doubted the infor at the boundless hollow around me, I did not feel any surprise that such a creek even as the one up which we had journeyed, should rise in it, and could easily picture to myself the rush of water there round has been saturated withfar advanced, whilst ere yet pushi+ng on, without any apparent ter, I turned ard at 2 p that the attain to cross the plain, was a physical impossibility We reached the water, at which the blind native visited us, a little after sunset, and were as glad as our poor aniht closed in upon us, and our labours

On the 5th, we passed the oldthe plains as before, and halted at the junction of a creek we had passed, that ca the banks of which I proposed turning towards the ranges On the eneral course of this tributary, which ran through an undulating country of rocks and sand Its channel was exceedingly capacious, and its banks were high and perpendicular, but everything about it, was sand or gravel Its bed was perfectly level, and its appearance at once destroyed the hope of finding water in it

The ground over which we rode, was, as I have stated, a ravel and rocks, and our horses yielded under us at alht miles we reached the outer line of hills, as they had appeared to us in the distance, and entered a pass between two of them, of about a quarter of a mile in width At this confined point there were the rees of terrific floods The waters had reached from one side of the pass to the other, and the dead trunks of trees and heaps of rubbish, were piled up against every bush

There was not a blade of vegetation to be seen either on the low ground or on the ranges, which were fro more than vast accumulations of sand and rocks At a mile, we arrived at the termination of the pass, and found ourselves at the entrance of a barren, sandy valley, with ranges in front of us, siht it advisable, therefore, to ascend a hill to her than any near it, to ascertain, if possible, the character of the northern interior The task of cla to the top of it however, was, in reater than I expected, and I had to wait a fewthe su, after all, to cheer me in the view that presented itself To the northas the valley in which the creek rises, bounded all round by barren, stony hills, like that on which I stood; and the summits of other similar hills shewed themselves above the nearer line To the east the apparently interminable plains on which we had been, stillto be seen beyond them Westward the outer line of hills continued backed by others, in the outlines of which we recognised the peaks and forms of the apparently lofty chain we first sae discovered the creek Thus, then, it appeared, that I had been entirely deceived in the character of these hills, and that it had been the effect of refraction in those burning regions, which had given to these moderate hills their mountain-like appearance

Satisfied that th to cross such a country, and that in it I had not the slightest chance of procuring the necessary sustenance for them, I turned back to Cooper's Creek, and then deemed it prudent to travel quietly on towards the place at which we first struck it, and had subsequently left our surplus stores

In riding around, we shot a new and beautiful little pigeon, with a long crest The habits of this bird were very singular, for it never perched on the trees, but on the highest and most exposed rocks, in what ht was short like that of a quail, and it ran in the sa We reached our destination on the evening of the 8th, and were astonished to see how much the waters had shrunk from their previous level Such an instance of the rapid die a pool, made me doubt whether I should find any water in Strzelecki's Creek to enable ain the Depot

As we descended from the flats to cross over to our old berth, we found it occupied by a party of natives, ere disposed to be rather troublesome, especially one old fellohose conduct annoyed ot rid of theht of us, they all went up the creek; but I could not help thinking, from the impertinent pertinacity of these fellows, that they had discovered s,where our fire had been, so that, if I had buried the stores there as intended, they would have been taken

As soon as the natives were out of sight, Mr Stuart and I went to the rhaGodia bush for our things As we approached, the branches appeared just as we had left the outside, and I therefore concluded that the natives had carried off everything Still, e ca appeared to have been touched, all the other things were just as we left the, therefore, that the natives had really discovered my store, but had been too honest to rob us, I returned to the creek in better hu to Mr Stuart, that as there was an oil laed it out of its place, we returned to the bush, to see if there were any impressions of naked feet round about it, but with the exception of our own, there were no tracks save those of a native dog I was consequently obliged to give Mr Stuart credit for his surmise, and felt somewhat mortified that the favourable impression I had received as to the honesty of the natives had thus been destroyed They had gone up the creek on seeing that I was displeased, andnothingave them a powder canister, a little box, and some other trifles; for after all there was only one old felloho had been unruly, and he noed as much impatience with his companions as he had done with us, and I therefore set his manner down to the score of petulance

At 10 am on the 9th we prepared to move over to the branch creek, as I really required rest and quiet, and knew very well that as long as I remained where I e should be troubled by our sable friends, who, being sixteen in nu well looked after Before we finally left the neighbourhood, however, where our hopes had so often been raised and depressed, I gave the name of Cooper's Creek to the fine watercourse we had so anxiously traced, as a proof of e of South Australia I ae of praise, but thus much will I venture to say, that whether in his public or private capacity, Mr Cooper was equally entitled to this record of ladly have laid this creek down as a river, but as it had no current I did not feelHad it been nearer the located districts of South Australia, its discovery would have been a es or speculations may lead the white st the first objects I had in view in raphical discovery; nor do I think that any country, however barren, can be explored without the attainood end

Circuive a value to enerations in Australia, as the first who tried to penetrate to its centre If I failed in that great object, I have one consolation in the retrospect of e tribes has been a bloodless one, not but that I have often been placed in situations of risk and danger, when Iblood, but I trust I have ever made allowances for human timidity, and respected the customs and prejudices of the rudest people I hope, indeed, that in this ood opinion Sir C Napier, an officer I knew not, was pleased to entertain of e, I have endeavoured to elevate the character of the white uides, but while I have the consolation to know that no European will followkindness froress of civilized ion, is alinal inhabitants

I struck Cooper's Creek in lat 27 degrees 44 rees 22 rees 56 rees 0 minutes There can be no doubt but that it would support a nuricultural capabilities appear to ion in which it lies is subject evidently to variations of temperature and seasons that must, I should say, be inimical to cereal productions; nevertheless I should suppose its soil would yield sufficient to support any population that ht settle on it

CHAPTER III

CONTINUED DROUGHT--TERRIFIC EFFECT OF HOT WIND--THERMOMETER BURSTS--DEATH OF POOR BAWLEY--FIND THE STOCKADE DESERTED--LEAVE FORT GREY FOR THE DEPOT--DIFFERENCE OF SEASONS--MIGRATION OF BIRDS--HOT WINDS--EMBARRassING POSITION--MR BROWNE STARTS FOR FLOOD'S CREEK--THREE BULLOCKS SHOT--COMMENCEMENT OF THE RETREAT--ARRIVAL AT FLOOD'S CREEK--STATE OF VEGETATION--EFFECTS OF SCURVY--ARRIVE AT ROCKY GLEN--COMPARISON OF NATIVE TRIBES--HALT AT CARNAPAGA--ARRIVAL AT CAWNDILLA--REMOVAL TO THE DARLING--LEAVE THE DARLING--STATE OF THE RIVER--OPPRESSIVE HEAT--VISITED BY NADBUCK--ARRIVAL AT MOORUNDI

By half past eleven of the 9th Noveot quietly settled, and I then found leisure to est themselves for our further retreat To insure the safety of the animals as much as possible, I deterhtier stores behind, and during the afternoon ere engaged ht as we could

It was not, however, the fear of the water in Strzelecki's Creck having dried up, that was at this ht it ed to retreat from Fort Grey, in which case I should still have a journey before me to the old Depot of 170 miles or more, under privations, to the horses at least, of no ordinary character; and I had great doubts as to the practicability of our final retreat upon the Darling The drought had now continued so long, and the heat been so severe, that I apprehended we ed to remain another summer in these fearful solitudes The weather was terrifically hot, and appeared to have set in unusually early