Part 14 (1/2)
He also inforraph as being constructed from north to south This he advised me to strike and follow to civilisation
I ive a few extracts from Giles's book, ”Australia Twice Traversed” (Sampson Low & Company), for this contains the version of the leader of the expedition himself as to the circumstances under which Gibson was lost In all, it seeh Central South Australia and Western Australia fro of his second expedition, Mr Giles says: ”I had informed my friend, Baron Von Mueller, by wire froraph station, of the failure and break-up of my first expedition, and he set to work and obtained new funds for me to continue ot ether We left early in March of 1873, and journeyed leisurely up-country to Beltana, then past the Finnis Springs to the Gregory We then journeyed up to the Peake, where elcoot at the Cattle Station, and Mr Blood of the Telegraph Departon, and bought horses and other things We now had twenty pack-horses and four riding-horses”
We next co man accosted me, and asked ht I knew his face, but I thought it was at the Peake that I had seen hiot's sheep at the north-west bend of the Murray? My nao out with you' I said, 'Well, can you shoe? Can you ride? Can you starve? Can you go without water? And hoould you like to be speared by the blacks?' He said he could do everything I had mentioned, and he wasn't afraid of the blacks He was not a man I would have picked out of a mob, but reed to take him
”Thus, the expedition consisted of four persons--myself (Ernest Giles), Mr William Henry Tietkins, Alf Gibson, and Jas On Monday, 4th August, we finally left the encae in which Mr Giles describes his dra with Gibson It will be found in the chapter marked ”20th April to 21st May 1874”: ”Gibson and I departed for the West I rode the 'Fair Maid of Perth' I gave Gibson the big a cob with a pair of water-bags that contained twenty gallons As we rode away, I was telling Gibson about various exploring expeditions and their fate, and he said, 'How is it that, in all these exploring expeditions, a lot of people go and die?' He said, 'I shouldn't like to die in this part of the country, anyhow'
”We presently had a meal of smoked horse It was late e encamped, and the horses werecob, who kept coet at our water-bags
We had one s in a tree
”I didn't think of that until ht up to it and took it in her teeth, forcing out the cork, and sending the water up, which ere both dying to drink, in a beautiful jet Gibson was now very sorry he had exchanged 'Badger' for the cob, as he found the latter very dull and heavy to get along There had been a hot wind fro (the 23rd of April), there was a , such as urs and seers of old, who trembled as they told events to come; _for this was the last day on which I ever saw Gibson_
”As Gibson ca to die The hills to the ere twenty-five to thirtyto reach theed for a camel! Gibson's horse was now so bad as to place both of us in a great dilemma We turned back in our tracks, when the cob refused to carry his rider any farther, and tried to lie down We drove him another mile on foot, and down he fell to die Myto return, but she had now to carry Gibson's saddle and things, and aent, walking and riding in turns of one half-hour each
”When we got back to about thirty s,' I shouted to Gibson, as riding, to stop until I walked up to him By this time we had hardly a pint of water left between us
”We here finished the supply, and I then said, as I could not speak before, 'Look here, Gibson, you see we are in a most terrible fix, with only one horse Only one can ride, and one must remain behind I shall reet water soon, she will die; therefore, ride right on; get to the Kegs, if possible, to-night, and give her water Now that the cob is dead, there'll be all the ht the Rawlinson, at twenty-five s Stick to the tracks and never leave the forup your own bags; and, re ht he could go better by night
I knew he didn't understand anything about compasses, as I had often tried to explain theory's Patent, of a totally different construction from ordinary instruments of the kind, and I was loth to part with it, as it was the only one I had However, as he was so anxious for it, I gave it to him, and away he went I sent one final shout after hiht'
and the ht almost instantly
”Gibson had left allons of water, which I could have drunk in half-an-hour All the food I had was eleven sticks of dirty, sandy, s about an ounce and a half each
”On the first of May, as I afterwards found out, at one o'clock in the ered into the calared at me as if I had been one risen from the dead I asked him if he had seen Gibson It was nine days since I last saw hi was to find Gibson's reot back to where he had left the right line As long as he had reh to follow hione away in a farthe les
We found he had burnt a patch of spinifex where he had left the other horses' tracks
”Whether he hadby the co east, as he should have done, he actually went south, or very near it
”I was sorry to think that the unfortunate man's last sensible ht that, as he had lost hier for my relief, I, too, must necessarily fall a victi between the Rawlinson Range and the next permanent water that may eventually be found to the north, 'Gibson's Desert,'--after this first white victi over Gibson's few effects, Mr Tietkins and I found an old pocket-book, a drinking-song, and a certificate of his e He had never told us he was married”
And now to resume my own narrative You will remember that I had settled down for a considerable ti around me as comfortable as possible Ya us well supplied with roots and vegetables; and as kangaroos, opossums, snakes, and rats abounded, we had an aoon could always be relied upon to provide us with excellent fish The country itself was beautiful in the extreme, with stately mountains, broad, fertile valleys, extensive forests,--and, above all, plenty of water The generalthe natives wasthe blacks in h these latter were a vastly superior race in point of physique, eapons, and general intelligence The people I now foundwere of so chins, high cheek-bones, and large mouths Their most noteworthy characteristic was their extreme childishness, which was especially displayed on those occasions when I gave an acrobatic performance My skill with the bow and arroas, as usual, a never-ending source of astonishment I was, in fact, credited with such reenuity had soht into play to accos expected ofI undertook
In the interior the natives never seerow very plump, but had a more or less spare, not to say emaciated, appearance co, food is not so easily obtainable, nor is it so nourishi+ng Moreover, the natives had to go very long distances to procure it
Besides the low, receding forehead and protruding chin I have already hinted at as characteristic of the inland tribes, I also noticed that these people had abnore feet Also, the beards of the men were not nearly so full or luxuriant as those of the blacks at Caoon tribe was little more than five feet
For ht, and therefore I stalked about aiant