Part 20 (1/2)
I would here remark that the natives of Australia have two kinds of spears--naame-spear is a thick, heavy implement, barbed with two or three teeth, entirely made of wood, and thrown by the hand These are used in stalking large gaaroos, etc, when the hunter sneaks on the quarry, and, at a distance of forty to fifty yards, transfixes it, though he may not just at the ress, and the hunter can then run it to earth The war-spears are different and lighter, the hinder third of thea wood; they are barbed, and throith a wommerah, to a distance up to 150 yards, and are so
After our meal we found a better supply of water in a creek about two miles southward, where there was both a rock reservoir and sand water
We had now come about 130 miles froa was again in sight The question was, is the water there per would be of no avail there, it is all solid rock; either the water is procured on the surface or there is none I made this trip to the east, not with any present intention of retreat, but to discover whether there was a line of waters to retreat upon, and to become acquainted with as much country as possible
(ILlustRATION: MOUNT OLGA, FROM SIXTY MILES TO THE WEST)
The sight of Mount Olga, and the thoughts of retreating to the east, acted like a spur to drive me farther to the west; we therefore turned our backs upon Mount Olga and the distant east I naood supply of water, Glen Robertson, and the creek that coa, as I said, bore nearly due east; its appearance from here, which ays called the farthest east, was rotesque It see for support against one another, with open cracks or fissures between, which came only about half-way down its face I araphical features on the face of the earth, for, as I have said, it is composed of several enormous rounded stone shapes, like the backs of severalpink elephants At sixty hest point of all, which is 1500 feet above the surrounding country, looked at froantic pink dahtly out of the perpendicular We did not return to the scene of our fight and our dinner, but went about two h hills again; we had to wind in and out a tracks We found the natives had followed us up step by step, and had tried to staround with their own They had walked four or five abreast, and consequentlypuffs of smoke behind us, but did not anticipate any more annoyance from them We pushed on till dark, to the spot where we had ; here we encaht I went for the horses, while Mr Tietkens got the swag and things ready to start away I returned, tied up the horses, and we had just begun to eat the little bit of damper we had for breakfast, when Mr Tietkens, whose nervous systeave the alarain saluted with their hideous outcries Breakfast was now aon to the horses, and by the tiain surrounded I almost wished we had only one of our rifles which we had left at ho with such an insensate, insatiableourselves into our saddles as fast as we could, and fairly gave our ene after us like a pack of yelping curs, indistance, nearly three miles, but the pace told on them at last and we co water in this region and then met these demons, it is h to reat wonder was that they did not sneak upon and spear us in the night, but the fact of our having a waterless encaood pace till we reached the Chirnside, and gave our horses a drink, but went on twenty miles to Louisa's Creek before we rested We only remained here an hour We saw no more of our enemies, but pushed on another twenty-two miles, till we reached the Hull, where we could find no water
On the subject of the natives, I may inform round has been raised for raves; these are the sleeping-places of the young and unmarried men, they scoop the soil out of a place and raise it up on each side: these are the bachelors' beds--twenty, thirty, and forty are sometimes seen in a row; on top of each raised portion of soil two s in lieu of blankets
Some tribes have their noses pierced, others not Some have front teeth knocked out, and others not In some tribes only women have teeth knocked out
Our supply of food now consisted of just sufficient flour to hty o, we simply had to do without any food all day, and shall have precisely the same quantity to-morrow--that is to say, none In eleven or twelvewe reached the caves near the Ruined Raht we ca after, we reached Gill's Pinnacle early, and fah to eat each other We mixed up, cooked, and ate our small remnant of flour The last two days have been reasonably cool; anything under 100 degrees is cool in this region We found that during our absence the natives had placed a quantity of guhs into the interstices of the small mounds of stone, or as I call them, teocallis, which I mentioned previously; this had evidently been done so soon as we departed, for they were now dead and dry After bathing, reood another twenty miles, and camped in triodia and casuarina sandhills We reached the ca been absent ten days Gibson and Ji, but these two poor fellows looked as pale as ghosts Gibson ione to the west, and was much perturbed by our protracted absence
The water in the open holes did not agree with either Gibson or Ji for a spring of fresh water, and where I had nearly got a horse bogged one day when I rode there, to see what it was like They had not, however, ave them the last of ourThey had shot plenty of parrots and pigeons, and one or two ducks; but, now that the areatest consideration We have only a few pounds of flour, and a horse wetouches to the s; this Mr Tietkens and Jimmy went to do, while Gibson and I cut up a tarpaulin to s, and with a ss that would hold seven to eight gallons each These, when greased with horse fat or oil, ought to enable et out soe Poor old Terrible Billy came to water early, and I was much pleased with his appearance, but his little house not being quite ready and the bags not corace I had looked forward eagerly to the tiot, however, was three dry thunderstorms and a few drops of rain, which fell upon us en route to so Sunday, we had a day of rest
Near the place to which I had been dragged, there were several little heaps of stones, or rather, as a general rule, small circles of piled-up stones removed from where they had formerly lain, with the exception of a solitary one left in the centre For what purpose the natives could have made or cleared these places I cannot tell; they were reserved for some ceremonies, no doubt, like those at Gill's Pinnacle The last few days have been very cool, the therrees in the shade On the 25th Gibson took the shovel to open out the springs formerly mentioned; they lie in theeucalyptus suckers, the ground all round being a ht alrowth of rushes The water appears to flow over several acres of ground, appearing and disappearing in places
The moment a small space was cleared of the rushes, it beca, and we stood on rushes over our ankles in black soil Gibson dug a small tank, and the water soon cleared for itself a beautiful little crystal basin of the purest liquid, much more delicious and wholesome than the half brackish water in the bed of the creek These springs have their origin at the foot of the hill on the eastern side of this pass, and percolate into the creek-bed, where the water beconated with salt or soda The water in the open holes in the creek-bed is always running; I thought the supply came from up the creek--noever, I find it cos I branded a tree in this pass E Giles with date
On the 25th March the pluly caht He took his last drink, and was led a captive to the caht The old creature looked remarkably well, and when tied up close to the s creature of what the craft and subtilty of the devil or un to eat a bunch or two of grass, when a rifle bullet crashi+ng through his forehead terminated his existence There was some little fat about him; it took so on sticks and placed in tiers in the pyramidal smoke-house
We had a fine supper of horse-steaks, which we relished aly
Terrible Billy tasted much better than the cob we had killed at Elder's Creek What fat there was on the inside was very yellow, and so soft it would not harden at all With a very fat horse a salvage of fat ot on portions of the meat, but nearly every particle of the fat drips into oil The smoke-house is now the object of our solicitude; a coluht and day Our continual smoke induced some natives to make their appearance, but they kept at a very respectful distance, co no nearer than the summit of the hills, on either side of the pass, fros They saluted us with a few cheers, ie groans, as they watched us from their observatory
The weather is now beautifully cool, fine, and clear We had now finished s Terrible Billy who still h I intended to e, and all we required was the horses to carry us away; but getting the in the world, for they were all running loose Although they have to coet water, there is water forquietly doithouta snort of derision to let us know, off they go at a gallop They run in mobs of twos and threes; so noe have systematically to watch for, catch, and hobble theht, and as they cah the north side of the pass They could not get back past the ca theht We had ten or twelve horses, but only two caot away before we could catch the theht; these we caught, hobbled, and put with the others, which were always trying to get back past the ca any that ca my watch, the second, several horses tried to pass the camp I drove them back twice, and had no , e caone Of course nobody had let theo! Every other member of the party infor oaths that the horses never got away in their watches, and that neither of the them back, etc; so I could only conclude that I one, and nobody else let theo, why, of course, I suppose I must After breakfast Mr
Tietkens went to try to recover the me he had met a number of natives at the smoke-house, who appeared very peaceably inclined, and ere on their road down through the pass
This was rather unusual; previous to our conflict they had never coiven us a wide berth, and see out of the reach of our rifles than otherwise
They soon appeared, although they kept away on the east side of the creek They then shouted, and when I cooeyed and beckoned them to approach, they sat down in a row Ithe cry of all Australian aborigines, belonged originally to only one tribe or region, but it has been carried about by whites from tribe to tribe, and is used by the civilised and semi-civilised races; but wild natives who have never seen whites use no such cry There were thirteen of these men Mr Tietkens and I went over to them, and we had quite a friendly conference Their leader was an individual of a very uncertain age--he hty (in the shade) (This ritten some time before the ”Mikado” appeared--EG) His head was nearly bald on the crown, but sorizzly locks depended below the bald patch
The others were generally h not clean past their youth, yet had about thee The old man was the most self-possessed; the others displayed a nervous tremor at our approach; those nearest us sidled closer to their ht, fortunate fellows; they were all extreures were not so outres, except that they appeared eood bulk Their legs were straight, and their height would average five feet nine inches, all being much taller than Mr Tietkens or I Two ree to superintend, it being no less than that of the trained wild dogs belonging to the tribe There were three large dogs, two of a light sandy, and one of a kind of German colley colour
These natives were arht barbed spears, each having about a dozen They do not appear to use the booh we have occasionally picked up portions of old ones in our travels Mr
Tietkens gave each of these natives a sar, hich they seemed perfectly charmed, and in consequence patted the seat of their intellectual--that is to say, digestive--organs with great gusto, as the saccharine hly pleased with the appearance and antics of , who both sat and stood up at cos away, I presu standing in about the same relation to a wild Australian native, as a sheep would to a white s they can catch, but keep a few pups to train for hunting, and wonderful hunting dogs they are Hence their fear of our taking their pets The old gentlehted with my watch
I then showed therass in thea phenomenon for their weak minds; some of them rose to depart The old man, however, reassured them I presented him with several matches, and showed hi no pockets in his coat--for I ht have previously rearb--he stuck the this ti from his mouth seemed to disturb even the old man's assumed imperturbability, and he kept much closer to me in consequence I next showed the it
Most of the when I said it; but when I fired it off they were too agitated to take ht otherwise have served to point a moral or adorn a tale in the oral traditions of their race for ever At the report of the revolver all rose and seeo, but I would not allow my dear old friend to depart without a few last friendly expressions One of these natives was pitted with s, and when I pointed west, and by shakingway, many of theave nify that they were aware that other white people like us lived in that direction The conference ended, and they departed over the hills on the east side of the pass, but it o hours before they disappeared
All the horses which had escaped in hobbles the other night now ca the day we secured the reether at last It was noon of the 7th April e left this delectable pass, again en route for the west, hoping to see Sladen Water and the Pass of the Abencerrages nomy boxes, as a strap broke, and he set to work to free hi Fortunately, one box with the instruot bucked and kicked out of the other; buckskin gloves, es, bottles of medicine, eye-water, socks, speci about in the thick triodia, for the brute went full gallop all round the et rid of the other box and his saddle In spite of all his efforts they res we recovered, though so set in very cool I now intended to enca I nae of Tarns There was a fine and heavy clump of eucalyptus timber there, and a very convenient and open sheet of water for the use of the camp I had always looked upon this as an excellent and desirable spot for an encarass, however, is neither good nor abundant; the country around being stony and sterile, except down the iraze a ain on the 9th of April
My reader will ree, rocky tarn of water, which I called the Circus; it was the last westerly water on the range, and I was anxious to knoas holding out, as it must be our point of departure for any farther efforts to the west It enty e to inspect it On our road we revisited the Gorge of Tarns; the water there had shrunk very much Here we had left some useless articles, such as three pack-saddle fraear; all these things the natives had carried away I had a good swi the Circus early in the afternoon There was the solitary eagle still perched upon its rock The water had becoreatly reduced; ten weeks and two days had elapsed since I was here; and in another fortnight it would all be gone If I intend doing anything towards the west it must be done at once or it will be too late The day aralars, a slate-coloured kind of cockatoo, and a good talking bird, and hundreds of pigeons ca no aun The water was so low in the hole that the horses could not reach it, and had to be watered with a canvas bucket I have said previously, that at the extree there lay an ancient lake bed, but I had only been a mile or two upon it Further on there were indications of salt, and as ere quite out of that commodity, we rode over to try and procure some, but none existed, and we had to be satisfied with a quantity of samphire bushes and salt-bush leaves, which we took ho day I called the salt feature Lake Christopher We re for a start to the west, and cut rails, and fixed up so that evidently frightful bed of sand which lay to the west, in hopes of a change, for I must admit I dreaded to attempt the western country while the weather was still so hot and oppressive Though the therh in this region, yet the weight and pressure of the at Existence here is in a peruor, and I a consu unknown lands, all others have to pale their ineffectual fires before it No doubt, not being well fed is sos of lassitude
The horses are also affected with extreuor, as well as the rees The horses are always trying to roam away back to Sladen Water, and Mr Tietkens and I had a walk ofreally anxious about the water at the Circus I scarcely dare to grapple with that western desert in such weather, yet, if I do not, I shall lose the Circus water
Although ere near the change of the e of weather I did not ask for rain, for it would be useless on the desert sands; I only wanted the atmosphere to become a little less oppressive I had not been round the extreh we had been to it, and I thought perhaps soood rock-hole, perhaps as far to the west, if not farther, than the Circus; on the opposite side of the range, Mr
Tietkens and Gibson, who volunteered, went to see what they could discover, also to visit the Circus so as to report upon it Jimmy and I remained and erected sohts--for the fort We walked over to re-inspect--Ji within a couple ofabout three-quarters of a s Here a fine strea water descendsin the range, though it spreads into no open sheets of water as at the depot; there was over awater The channel is thickly set with fine tall bulrushes There is a very fine shady clue The next spring, about a s; it had not such a strong floater, but the trees in the cluer and more numerous than at the last Some of the trees, as was the case at Fort McKellar, were of very considerable size Late at night Mr Tietkens and Gibson returned, and reported that, although they had discovered a new rock-hole with seven or eight feet of water in it, it was utterly useless; for no horses could get within three-quarters of a mile of it, and they had been unable to water their horses, having had to do so at the Circus They said the water there was holding out well; but Gibson said it had dio On the 19th April I told the party it was useless to delay longer, and that I had made up my mind to try what impression a hundred miles would make on the country to the west I had waited and waited for a change, not to say rain, and it seeh the ht still keep on waiting, until every ounce of our now very lione We were now, and had been since Billy was killed, living entirely on smoked horse; we only had a few pounds of flour left, which I kept in case of sickness; the sugar was gone; only a few sticks of tobacco for Mr Tietkens and Gibson--Ji--remained I had been disappointed at the Charlotte Waters at starting, by not being able to gethim and the 200 pounds of flour he would have carried--a deficiency which considerably shortened my intended supply A comparatively enormous quantity of flour had been lost by the continual rippings of bags in the scrubs farther south, and also a general loss in weight of nearly ten per cent, fros, and evaporation We had supplemented our supplies in a eons and wallabies, as long as our ammunition lasted, and noas done When I made known my intention, Gibson immediately volunteered to acco previously been left so often and so long in the camp I much preferred Mr Tietkens, as I felt sure the task ere about to undertake was no ordinary one, and I knew Mr Tietkens was to be depended upon to the last under any circuht, and, though I said nothing, I was not at all pleased
CHAPTER 210 FROM 20TH APRIL TO 21ST MAY, 1874
Gibson and I depart for the west
His brother with Franklin
Desert oaks