Volume I Part 9 (1/2)

We caught two sharks today; the sailors said that they saw fourteen or fifteen little sharks swimming round one of these, and that when the bait was thrown into the water and made a noise some of these swam into her mouth: directly after they had told me this the shark was caught. I had it opened and four young ones were found inside, two had never left the uterus, for they were attached to it at the time, the other two were not so attached, and were larger than the former, and swam well and strongly when put into the water: whether or not they had ever left the mother I cannot of course say. I have preserved two in spirits, one that was attached and one that was not; two intestinal worms were found in the stomach of one of the sharks.

CHAPTER 4. HANOVER BAY.

NEW AND DANGEROUS SHOAL.

November 29.

This morning at twenty minutes after nine, when in lat.i.tude 15 degrees 26 minutes 32 seconds and longitude 121 degrees 55 east, we suddenly made the very unpleasant discovery that we were in the midst of shoals, owing to some negligence in our lookout. This was not found out until we were hemmed in between two, one lying not more than fifty fathoms from our larboard quarter, and the other about three times the distance on the starboard beam. I went up to the mast-head, and distinctly saw the rocks, not more than two or three feet under water on the larboard side. We fortunately pa.s.sed through this danger without accident; and, directly we cleared it, found bottom at twenty-five fathoms, coa.r.s.e sand and sh.e.l.ls.

RED ISLAND.

December 2.

I was called at four A.M. to keep my watch, and, as soon as I had ascertained that the men composing it were all present and at their stations, I went up aloft, and as I antic.i.p.ated a speck of land soon appeared above the horizon. This was Red Island. Other points shortly rose behind it: hill after hill came up into view, at a distance looking like islands, which indeed many of them were; but, on a nearer approach, the parts connecting the others became visible, and the mainland of this vast insular continent gradually revealed itself to our anxious eyes.

MAKING THE LAND.

We stood on until eleven A.M.; but in making land there always rests a certain degree of anxiety upon the mind of the seaman and traveller, more especially when that land is imperfectly known. As there appeared to be every chance of our losing the sea-horizon, and consequently our noon observation, if we stood on and the breeze continued, our course was changed to the other tack until that hour; and then having correctly ascertained our position, Red Island bearing south-east by east, distance 8 miles, we once more stood in for the land.

Red Island is small, rocky, and of no great elevation; its colour is a very dark red; the sides are precipitous, and in its centre is a clump of trees which cannot be seen until you have run by the island, as it falls gradually from the south-west to the north-east, so that the north-east side is the least elevated. We sounded when about seven miles to the north-west of it, and found bottom at twenty-five fathoms, of green sandy mud.

The sandbank laid down on the Admiralty charts to the north-east of Red Island is small and barren; it is very low, and at some distance looks like a white rock in the water; being apparently an island formed of the same rock as the former, and topped with quartz or white sand. In entering Hanover Bay, or Port George the Fourth, a good course is to run nearly midway between this and Red Island. At sunset we anch.o.r.ed off Entrance Island (Port George the Fourth) in twenty-five fathoms water.

ARRIVAL OFF THE COAST OF AUSTRALIA. ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY FROM s.h.i.+P-BOARD.

At the first streak of dawn I leant over the vessel's side to gaze upon those sh.o.r.es I had so longed to see. I had not antic.i.p.ated that they would present any appearance of inviting fertility; but I was not altogether prepared to behold so arid and barren a surface as that which now met my view. In front of me stood a line of lofty cliffs, occasionally broken by sandy beaches; on the summits of these cliffs and behind the beaches rose rocky sandstone hills, very thinly wooded. Whilst I mused on this prospect, all hands were busied in getting the vessel under weigh, which was soon accomplished; but there was little or no wind, and the s.h.i.+p lay almost motionless upon the waters.

LAND AT HIGH BLUFF POINT. WALK TO HANOVER BAY.

By ten o'clock however we were abreast of High Bluff Point and, as there appeared to be little chance of our having even a gentle breeze for some time, I determined to land with a party at the Point, and to walk from thence to Hanover Bay, where on our arrival we could make a signal to the vessel for a boat to reconvey us on board. By the adoption of this course I hoped to be able at once to select a spot affording water and forage, in the neighbourhood of which the sheep and stores might be landed; the vessel could then proceed without delay to the Island of Timor to procure the requisite number of ponies for our expedition, and, if she made a quick pa.s.sage there and back, I trusted, notwithstanding the numerous unforeseen delays that had arisen, we might yet be able to start for the interior before the rainy season set in.

LANDING AND DISTRESS FOR WANT OF WATER ON THE ROUTE.

The necessary orders were soon given: the boat was lowered and, whilst the party prepared themselves, I went below to arrange with the master the precise spot at which the vessel was to anchor in order that no mistake might occur upon so vital a point. This done, I returned once more on deck, and found all ready for departure.

The party to land consisted of Mr. Lus.h.i.+ngton, Mr. Walker, and three men who were selected to accompany us. I also brought away three of the dogs, to whom I was anxious to give a run after their long confinement on board.

The sh.o.r.e for which we pulled was not more than half a mile distant, and we soon gained the edge of a sandy beach, on which I sprang, eagerly followed by the rest; every eye beaming with delight and hope, unconscious as we were how soon our trials were to commence.

DISTRESSING MARCH.

I soon found that we had landed under very unfavourable circ.u.mstances.

The sun was intensely hot. The long and close confinement on board a small vessel had unfitted us all for taking any violent or continued exercise without some previous training, and the country in which we had landed was of a more rocky and precipitous character than any I had ever before seen; indeed I could not more accurately describe the hills than by saying that they appeared to be the ruins of hills; composed as they were of huge blocks of red sandstone, confusedly piled together in loose disorder, and so overgrown with spinifex and scrub that the interstices wore completely hidden, and into these one or other of the party was continually slipping and falling.

The trees were small, and their foliage so scant and slight that they afforded no shelter whatever from the burning rays of the sun; which appeared to strike up again from the sandstone with redoubled heat, so that it was really painful to touch or to stand upon a bare rock: we therefore kept moving onwards in the hope of meeting with some spot favourable for a halting place; but the difficult nature of the ground which we had to cross rendered our progress slow and oppressively laborious.

A feeling of thirst and la.s.situde such as I had never before experienced soon began to overcome all of us; for such a state of things we had unfortunately landed quite unprepared, having only two pints of water with us, a portion of which it was necessary to give to the dogs; who apparently suffered from the heat in an equal degree with ourselves.

These distressing symptoms I can only ascribe to the extreme heat of the sun reflected from the sandstone rocks, and our previous long confinement on board.

LOSS OF OUR THREE DOGS.