Part 30 (2/2)
June 3.--I arose at day-break, as I found the whalers breakfasted betimes, to enable them to send their boats away to look out, at an early hour. In fact, during the season, I was informed, that it was not unusual to send them to their posts before the break of day, and especially so, if other vessels were in company, or there was any compet.i.tion. After breakfast I landed with the Captain, to get up and inspect the horses; poor animals they had not gone far and were doubtless glad at not being required to march away to-day. I was only sorry that the country did not abound more in gra.s.s. Plenty of water left by the rains was procurable, in the ledges of the granite rocks, but the vegetation was scanty, the soil being very sandy, and covered princ.i.p.ally with small shrubs, heathy plants, etc.
Leaving the horses to enjoy their respite from labour, I accompanied the Captain to see a garden made by the sailors, in which peas and potatoes had already been planted, and appeared to be growing well. A rich piece of land had been selected on a slope, bordering upon a salt water creek, which here wound through the level country towards the sea. The water in this creek, was brackish in the upper part, but seaward it was quite salt, it had a bar mouth of sand, which was quite dry. Unfortunately, the Captain had no garden seeds but the peas and potatoes, so that their labours were confined to cultivating these; otherwise during the many months spent by them in bay whaling, they might have abundantly supplied themselves with a variety of vegetables, at once an agreeable and wholesome addition to the ordinary diet on board s.h.i.+p. After dinner I went with the Captain to visit an island near, upon which he kept his live stock, such as pigs, sheep, and tortoises; the two latter had been procured from the west side of the island of Madagascar; the sheep were strange looking animals, more like goats than sheep, of all colours, and with fat tails, like the Cape sheep. Their cost at Madagascar had been a tumbler full of powder a piece; a bullock would have cost ten bottles full, and other things could have been procured at proportionable prices.
The princ.i.p.al articles in request among the Madagases, were said to be powder, bra.s.s headed trunk nails, muskets, gun-flints, clear claret bottles, looking-gla.s.ses, and cutlery.
The greater part of the day was very cold and showery, and I remained quietly on board, reading some old English papers. Wylie was as happy as he could be. It was true he did not understand a word spoken by those around him (for not a soul on board spoke English but the Captain), but he had as much to eat as he desired; and to do him justice, I believe he made the most of the opportunity. On the other hand, his capacity for eating entertained the Frenchmen, with the exception, perhaps, of his first meal on board, and then, I believe, that the immense number of biscuits he devoured, and the amazing rapidity with which they disappeared, not only astounded, but absolutely alarmed them. Fish were caught in great numbers from the s.h.i.+p's side, mackarel and baracoota being obtained every day. Other varieties might have been procured off the rocks near the sh.o.r.e, from which there were many places well adapted for fis.h.i.+ng. Periwinkles abounded, and crabs were numerous among the crevices of the rocks. Altogether, this seemed to be a most favourable place; and had we not met with the vessel, it would have held out to us the prospect of obtaining as abundant a supply of food for ourselves as we had got at Point Malcolm, without the necessity of destroying the poor foal. The night again set in very wild, cold, and wet.
June 4.--This morning the weather appeared tolerably fine, and I landed with the French doctor for the purpose of walking across to Thistle Cove.
After travelling four miles over a sandy heathy country, we arrived at the pretty little fresh water lake, so accurately described by Captain Flinders, and which I had so anxiously looked forward to attaining, that we might halt to rest, and recruit the horses. There is no timber around the lake, beyond a few xamias, gra.s.s trees, and some stunted tea-trees; neither was there much gra.s.s. In other respects, I could not have pitched upon a more favourable place to have halted at: for near the lake abounded the flag reed, of which the root was so valuable for food. This one article would have supported us well during our stay here, whilst the many bluff rocks, with deep calm water close to them, extending all around the promontory which projected into the sea, and round the bay, held out great promise that fish could readily have been caught. Ducks were also numerous in the lake, and kangaroos on sh.o.r.e. The day turned out very bleak and wet, and we both got thoroughly soaked through before we got back to the vessel, which was not until about two in the afternoon; I was then obliged to borrow a dry suit from the Captain, whilst my own clothes were drying.
June 5.--From this time until the fourteenth of June I remained on board the Mississippi, enjoying the hospitality of Captain Rossiter. Wylie went out once or twice to try to shoot a kangaroo for the s.h.i.+p, but he never succeeded; he had so much to eat on board that he had no stimulus to exertion, and did not take the trouble necessary to insure success.
During almost the whole of the time that I remained on board the Mississippi, the weather was exceedingly boisterous, cold, and wet, and I could not but feel truly thankful that I had not been exposed to it on sh.o.r.e; even on board the s.h.i.+p, with shelter and extra clothing, I felt very sensibly the great change which had taken place in the temperature.
I regretted greatly that during my stay I had not the opportunity of seeing a whale caught. There was only once an attempt at a chase. In this instance three boats were sent out, commanded by the Captain and the two mates, but after a considerable lapse of time, and a long interval of suspense and anxiety, the fish chased turned out to be a hump-back, and as this was not deemed worth catching, the boats returned to the s.h.i.+p.
The life led by the whalers, as far as I was able to judge, from the short time I was with them, seemed to be one of regularity, but of considerable hards.h.i.+p. At half-past six or seven in the evening they invariably went to bed, but were up at the first dawn of day, and sometimes even before it, the boats were then usually sent to a distance from the s.h.i.+p to look out for whales, and whether fortunate or otherwise, they would always have a pretty hard day's work before they returned.
They were, however, well fed, being apparently even better dieted than the generality of merchant-s.h.i.+ps; the bread was of a better quality, and the allowance of b.u.t.ter, cheese, beans, and other little luxuries much more liberal. In the Mississippi the crew were generally young men, and with few exceptions all were complete novices at sea; this I was told was in consequence of an expected war between England and France, and the prohibition of able seamen from leaving their country. Captain Rossiter a.s.sured me that he had not been allowed for a considerable length of time to sail at all from France, as the war was daily expected to break out.
He was still ignorant as to what had been done in this respect, and naturally felt very anxious at being, as he might imagine, on an enemy's coast.
During the time I remained on board the vessel, a party of natives once or twice came down to the beach, and as I was anxious to enter into commucation with them, two were induced to get into the boat and come on board; as I expected, my boy Wylie fully understood the language spoken in this part of the country, and could converse with them fluently.
Through him I learnt that they had never seen white people before the Mississippi anch.o.r.ed here, which was somewhat singular, considering the frankness with which they visited us, and the degree of confidence they appeared to repose in us. Of the interior I could gain no satisfactory account, they said that as far inland as they were acquainted with the country, it was similar to what we saw, that there was an abundance of water in the valleys in small wells, that there was a lake and fresh water river, but that there was little or no wood anywhere. In turn they were curious to know where we had come from, or where we were going; but Wylie, who in this respect, at least, was prudent and cautious, told them that we had come from the eastward to join the s.h.i.+p, and were now going to remain. Finding I could gain no further useful information, presents of fish and biscuits were made to them, and they were put on sh.o.r.e, highly pleased with their visit. During the remainder of my stay, I had no further opportunity of entering into conversation with these people, as the weather was generally wild, and they could not procure much shelter or fire-wood on the coast, had they come down to see us.
A few days before I contemplated commencing the renewal of my journey, I requested the Captain to allow a blacksmith he had on board to shoe my horses, and to this he kindly consented, but as a scarcity of iron prevailed, some old harpoons and lances had to be worked up for this purpose. The blacksmith who was a Frenchman, made his shoes and nails in so different, and apparently in so much more clumsy manner than I was accustomed to, that I was almost afraid of letting him put them on, and tried hard, but in vain, to get him to imitate the English shoe and nail in ordinary use.
Finding that I was likely to derive no advantage from my officious interference, I determined to let him have his own way, and was surprised and delighted to find that he performed his work well and skilfully, the only unusual part of the operation to me, being the necessity he appeared to be under, of always having a man to hold up the leg of the horse whilst he put the shoe on, instead of holding the foot up himself, as an English blacksmith does; such however, he a.s.sured me was the practice always in France, and he appeared to think it the best too. Having had my horses shod, I got some canva.s.s from the Captain, to make bags for carrying my provisions, and then giving him a list of stores that I wished to take with me, I commenced preparations for leaving my hospitable entertainer. Every thing that I wished for, was given to me with a kindness and liberality beyond what I could have expected; and it gives me unfeigned pleasure, to have it now in my power to record thus publicly the obligations I was under to Captain Rossiter.
On the 14th, I landed the stores, to arrange and pack them ready for the journey. They consisted of forty pounds of flour, six pounds of biscuit, twelve pounds of rice, twenty pounds of beef, twenty pounds of pork, twelve pounds of sugar, one pound of tea, a Dutch cheese, five pounds of salt b.u.t.ter, a little salt, two bottles of brandy, and two tin saucepans for cooking; besides some tobacco and pipes for Wylie, who was a great smoker, and the canteens filled with treacle for him to eat with rice.
The great difficulty was now, how to arrange for the payment of the various supplies I had been furnished with, as I had no money with me, and it was a matter of uncertainty, whether the s.h.i.+p would touch at any of the Australian colonies. Captain Rossiter however, said that he had some intention of calling at King George's Sound, when the Bay whaling was over, and as that was the place to which I was myself going, I gave him an order upon Mr. Sherratt, who had previously acted as my agent there in the transaction of some business matters in 1840. To this day, however, I have never learnt whether Captain Rossiter visited King George's Sound or not.
In arranging the payment, I could not induce the Captain to receive any thing for the twelve days' that we had been resident in the s.h.i.+p, nor would he allow me to pay for some very comfortable warm clothing, which he supplied me with, both for myself and Wylie. Independently too of the things which I had drawn from the s.h.i.+p's stores, Captain Rossiter generously and earnestly pressed me to take any thing that I thought would be serviceable to me from his own private stock of clothes. The attention and hospitality shewn me, during my stay on board the vessel, and the kindness and liberality which I experienced at my departure, will long be remembered by me with feelings of grat.i.tude. In the evening I slept on sh.o.r.e, and got every thing ready for commencing my labours again in the morning.
June 15.--Early this morning the boat came on sh.o.r.e for me, and I went on board to take a farewell breakfast, in the Mississippi, and to wish good bye to her kind-hearted people. At eight I landed with the Captain, got up my horses and loaded them, a matter of some little time and trouble, now my stock of provisions and other things was so greatly augmented; in addition too to all I had acc.u.mulated before, the Captain insisted now upon my taking six bottles of wine, and a tin of sardines.
Having received a few letters to be posted at Albany for France, I asked the Captain if there was anything else I could do for him, but he said there was not. The only subject upon which he was at all anxious, was to ascertain whether a war had broken out between France and England or not.
In the event of this being the case, he wished me not to mention having seen a French vessel upon the coast, and I promised to comply with his request.
After wis.h.i.+ng my kind host good bye, and directing Wylie to lead one of the horses in advance, I brought up the rear, driving the others before me. Once again we had a long and arduous journey before us, and were wending our lonely way through the unknown and untrodden wilds. We were, however, in very different circ.u.mstances now, to what we had been in previous to our meeting with the French s.h.i.+p. The respite we had had from our labours, and the generous living we had enjoyed, had rendered us comparatively fresh and strong. We had now with us an abundance, not only of the necessaries, but of the luxuries of life; were better clothed, and provided against the inclemency of the weather than we had been; and entered upon the continuation of our undertaking with a spirit, an energy, and a confidence, that we had long been strangers to.
From the great additional weight we had now to carry upon the horses, we were again obliged to give up riding even in turn, and had both to walk.
This was comparatively of little consequence, however, now we were so well provided with every thing we could require, and the country appeared to be so well watered, that we could arrange our stages almost according to our own wishes.
Steering to the north-west we pa.s.sed over a sandy country, covered with low heathy plants, and gra.s.strees, and having granite elevations scattered over its surface at intervals. Under these hills fresh water swamps and native wells were constantly met with, and at one of them we encamped for the night, after a stage of about four miles.
During the day, we pa.s.sed a variety of beautiful shrubs, and among them were many different kind of Banksias, one was quite new to me, and had a scarlet flower, which was very handsome. The fossil formation still const.i.tuted the geological character of the country, most of the lower ridges of rock intervening between the various hills of granite, exhibiting sh.e.l.ls in great abundance. In the more level parts, the surface was so coated over with sand, that nothing else could be seen. I have no doubt, however, that the whole of the substrata would have been found an uninterrupted continuation of the tertiary deposit.
<script>