Volume I Part 38 (2/2)

March 28.

This morning the weather looked tolerably fine; I therefore ordered the boats to be launched and, after pulling a few miles to windward along Perron's Peninsula, we struck across for Dirk Hartog's Island; our former ill-luck however still attended us, for just as we were making the land another fearful gale from the south-south-west came on, and had we not had the good luck to have got under the lee of the Coin de Mire of the French we must infallibly have been wrecked; as it was we pulled along under this promontory and beached the boats in a little bay at its north-west extremity. Nothing but absolute necessity could however have induced me to take such a step, for the place was rocky and difficult of access, with a heavy surf breaking on the beach. The rain fell in torrents during the greater part of the evening, and the men spent the time in searching for oysters and sh.e.l.lfish with which to appease their hunger. The rain which had fallen during the last two days had a very injurious effect upon some of us, for, our clothes having been lost with the other things which were swept away from the depot during the hurricane of the first of March, we were very insufficiently clad.

DIRK HARTOG'S ISLAND.

March 29.

The weather this morning being very foul I occupied myself in making a survey of a portion of Dirk Hartog's Island, which is of a very barren nature, though rather better than either Bernier or Dorre Islands, but for many years to come it must be utterly useless. It looks exactly like a Scottish heath; and I have no doubt whatever that water would be found by digging on it; but as we could have obtained plenty from large holes in the rocks we did not make the attempt. Whilst I was occupied in this examination of the island the wind s.h.i.+fted suddenly to the north-west and I hurried back to the party in order not to lose so favourable an opportunity.

On arriving at the boats I found that the water had not been completed, nor had three days' provisions (such as they were) been cooked, although I had left orders when I went away that these necessary preparations for our moving should immediately be made; this gave me another reason to suspect that, during my temporary absence from the party, discipline was now altogether neglected, and indeed treated as an unnecessary restraint under existing circ.u.mstances. Mr. Smith had warned me that such was the case, and I therefore never separated myself from any portion of the party without great anxiety; for I well knew that the safety of all depended upon preserving the strictest subordination.

In this instance however I merely ordered the boats to be instantly launched; for I knew that to lose a fair wind in our present situation would be rashness; and we were soon bounding before the breeze. The wind now continued fair and at nightfall we landed on the main in such a position as to look out to the open sea, through the pa.s.sage between Steep Point and Dirk Hartog's Island.

PERILOUS COASTING.

March 30.

This morning we pulled up the opening and found a perfect bubble of a sea running into it and breaking on the various reefs which lie in its mouth.

We then made an attempt to pull round Steep Point and succeeded in getting out to sea; but there was a formidable swell setting dead on the sh.o.r.e and drifting us rapidly in towards it, whilst in the event of being stranded nothing could have saved our lives for the surf was so tremendous that the boat must instantly have gone to pieces, and the lofty limestone cliffs were perfectly inaccessible, being hollowed out into deep caverns by the action of the waves. The attempt to get along this coast appeared indeed to be so hazardous that even the old sailors who were with me begged me not to risk it, but rather to allow them to endeavour to walk overland to Perth. I was well aware that had I attempted to do this at least half the party would have been lost; for but few men can support the fatigue of making long and continuous marches in a very warm climate in which a great scarcity of water prevails.

SHELTER UNDER A REEF.

I however humoured them so far as to put back for the mouth of the opening, where, under the shelter of a reef, we could lie at anchor for a few hours in the hope that the sea would lull a little; we however only just cleared Steep Point, and whilst doing so I felt certain for two or three minutes that we must have gone ash.o.r.e, for each breaker lifted the boat bodily towards the cliffs; as it was however it pleased Providence to bring us safe to our anchorage.

We were now about to enter on the most perilous part of our journey homewards. For the next one hundred and twenty miles along the coast I could not hope to find a place whereon to beach the boats, in the event of our meeting with those unfavourable winds which we had hitherto found so prevalent. It would, in the present weak state of the party, take us many successive days to make this pa.s.sage; and, should the weather be really foul, accompanied by strong gales from the south-west, our fate would soon have been decided. Nevertheless our hope of ultimate safety rested altogether upon the accomplishment of the difficult task we were about to commence.

INSUBORDINATION CHECKED.

I soon found that remaining in a state of inactivity would but increase our difficulties; for as the men talked over them to one another, they grew wore and more gloomy, and when at length I gave a particular order to a man of the name of Woods he quietly refused to obey it, saying that he now considered that his life was altogether lost, and that he would therefore knock off work. I was rather puzzled for a minute or two as to how I ought to act under these circ.u.mstances, for such an example as he had set necessarily exercised a bad influence over the others; yet there was no use in threatening to punish where I had not the means to do so; I therefore merely turned round to the man who had the charge of sharing out our scanty allowance of provisions and desired him to divide Woods'

portion of water and provisions amongst the rest of us today, as I intended for the future that he should have none, at all events not until he did his fair share of work. This had the desired effect; he soon came to his senses and told me that I might as well throw him overboard at once as starve him, to which I replied that unless he overcame his cowardice and bore his proportion of the toil we all had to go through I should in no way whatever interfere with his starving, being thrown overboard, or anything else; but that I would take very good care that he had neither a morsel to eat or a drop of water to drink; whereupon he again resumed his duty and from that time forward proved to be one of the best men I had with me; indeed I never again had occasion to find fault with him.

Seeing however what a pernicious effect this delay was likely to produce I determined at once to cope with those difficulties, which we must either overcome or perish; and accordingly round Steep Point we again went, and for the rest of this evening and night contended with the heavy sea as well as we could, keeping about a mile from the sh.o.r.e, sometimes pulling and sometimes getting a favourable slant of wind.

March 31.

This day we continued our course, tracing out the sh.o.r.e. A small piece of raw pork was served out to each man; and I found this to be a very nice and palatable morsel; it however increased our thirst, which, as we were upon very short allowance of water, was rather a disadvantage; but it was absolutely necessary that we should take some nourishment.

CHARACTER OF THE Sh.o.r.e.

The country hereabouts is very uninviting, consisting of a high range of barren limestone hills, ascending gradually from steep cliffs which form the coastline. These hills are of such equal elevation that they have a monotonous as well as barren appearance, and are rent in places by deep rocky gullies which run down into the sea. No change whatever took place in the character of the coast throughout our day's ruin, nor did I see a spot where a boat could land. I did not close my eyes during Sunday night, for we were still in a most perilous position, and I felt that whilst we were on so dangerous a coast with a foul wind it was my duty to keep upon the alert as long as wearied nature would admit of my so doing.

As soon as there was sufficient light for me to distinguish the coastline I found that it was somewhat losing its monotonous character by breaking into more detached hills; and about ten A.M., we reached the northern extremity of Gantheaume Bay.

TO GANTHEAUME BAY.

The men being now completely worn out by want of rest, incessant exertion, and the mental anxiety they had undergone in the last fifty-six hours, during the whole of which time they had been in actual danger, I determined to attempt a landing in Gantheaume Bay, and therefore pulled along sh.o.r.e with the intention of finding a spot where we could easily land and yet be near a place likely to afford us water; for notwithstanding the economy we had practised none now was left. I soon came to an opening in the bay which I thought would suit our purpose, but Ruston, on whose opinion in such matters I placed great reliance, reported it to be utterly impracticable; we still therefore pulled along the sh.o.r.e, and found it lashed throughout its whole extent by a fearful surf. The south end of the bay, although protected by a reef, had just as heavy a surf breaking on it as any other part of the sh.o.r.e and was also very rocky, we therefore turned back to a sandy beach which we had pa.s.sed in pulling round the bay and, having carefully examined this, it appeared in every way suited to our purpose, so we committed ourselves to the mercy of the breakers and in we went. As I stood at the steer-oar I saw that this was a heavier surf than we had ever yet been in. We were swept along at a terrific rate, and yet it appeared as if each following wave must engulf us, so lofty were they, and so rapidly did they pour on.

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