Volume I Part 16 (1/2)

CIVILITY OF THE TRIBE FIRST MET.

February 22.

We traversed without much difficulty the plains where we had, on our advance, halted to make certain repairs; and we next entered the scrub where I had presented the tomahawk to the young native as a reward for the confidence with which he had approached us, when the rest of his tribe fell back. We had not advanced far beyond the scene of that interview when I perceived a number of natives running before me along our line of route. I hastened after them, when I perceived several men advancing to meet me. They halted in a rather formal manner at some distance, and I next came upon their spears which, with a stone hatchet, had been laid across our track. There I alighted from my horse, and proceeded slowly towards them on foot, inviting them as well as I could to come forward, and which they accordingly did. Three men met me at halfway. One of these seemed rather old, another was very stout and fat, and the third had an intelligent countenance and thin person, but was so thickly covered with the most raised sort of scarifications that I was half inclined to think that the slightness of his frame might be partly owing to the lacerations which covered it. Other members of the tribe soon joined us, and as the carts by this time had arrived at the spears on the ground I took one up and explained to the natives that the wheels pa.s.sing over would break them; still these strange people would not remove them, and I concluded that this prostration of their weapons was intended to make us acquainted with their friendly disposition towards us. They began to call loudly to their gins, who stood a.s.sembled under a large tree at some distance, and we plainly understood the invitation of the men to visit these females. But our party was much more disposed to fight than make love; and I have little doubt that by throwing a single spear the natives would have pleased them more than by all the civility they were evidently anxious to show us; so desirous were they, at that time, to avenge the late murders--when even the odour of corruption still hung like a pestilence about the articles recovered from the plundered camp. The natives however PERHAPS out of pure cordiality in return for our former disinterested kindness, persisted in their endeavours to introduce us very particularly to their women. They ordered them to come up, divested of their cloaks and bags, and placed them before us. Most of the men appeared to possess two, the pair in general consisting of a fat plump gin, and one much younger. Each man placed himself before his gins and, bowing forward with a shrug, the hands and arms being thrown back pointing to each gin, as if to say: Take which you please. The females on their part evinced no apprehensions, but seemed to regard us beings of a race so different without the slightest indication of either fear, aversion, or surprise. Their looks were rather expressive of a ready acquiescence in the proffered kindness of the men, and when at length they brought a sable nymph vis-a-vis to Mr. White, I could preserve my gravity no longer and, throwing the spears aside, I ordered the bullock-drivers to proceed. I endeavoured to explain by gestures that two of our party had been killed by their countrymen, and pointed to the place so that, as Mr. White thought, they understood me. On seeing the party again in motion most of the natives disappeared, one or two only lingered behind trees, and it then occurred to me to offer them a small iron tomahawk in exchange for that of stone which lay beside the spears.

I therefore sent Dawkins to them to make a bargain if he could, but on going back he saw most of the natives running off with spears in their hands, and could not make his object understood by those who remained.

The earth in this part of our old track had become very soft and, although the surface undulated, it possessed a peculiar rottenness, so that where the upper crust bore me on horseback the carts would suddenly sink to the axle. The horses at length began also to sink through the surface crust, and we were approaching a hollow which appeared likely to be still worse, when our wheel-carriages at length got quite fast and then, recollecting some gestures of the natives, I understood their meaning. They had pointed forward along the way we were pursuing, holding the hands as high as the breast as if to show how deep; and then to the eastward, as if to say: that direction would be better. We were now forced to retrace our steps, and in following the course indicated by the natives we made a slight detour, and travelled over hard ground into our old track again. This useful information given so kindly by these natives convinced me that no treachery was intended, although among the men, who had so recently buried their comrades, I believe a different opinion prevailed.

No other impediment obstructed our progress through these woods, which consisted of the ironbark species of eucalyptus, and we soon emerged on the plains where the surface, being composed of clay, was found much the best for travelling upon at that season, and altogether free from that rottenness which, in some parts of the forest, had this day so greatly impeded the party. We encamped on the ground which we had formerly occupied at Lobster Pond.

MOSQUITOES TROUBLESOME.

During this and the two preceding days the party was tormented by a very large species of mosquito which had not been previously seen on this journey. They were most troublesome when the morning was growing warm.

Their colour was grey, and they had thin black parallel stripes on the back. We met these tormenting insects on first entering the woods from the plains. During the drought a smaller species had been troublesome at night, as I had frequently experienced when obliged to sit, s.e.xtant in hand, awaiting the pa.s.sage of stars near the meridian. I found that the burning a little bullock dung in my tent cleared it of all mosquitoes for the night.

February 23.

This morning we were early en route in hopes to reach the Namoi. I took care to find again the tree which bore the yellow flowers; as it certainly was rare, being the only one of the description seen throughout the journey. Now however the flowers had given place to young fruit which were of the size of an acorn, and grew on a long hooked stalk.*

(*Footnote. See Chapter 2.8 of next Journey for a description of this tree.)

In crossing the low ridge which separates the plains from the Namoi we again toiled through very soft ground. It occurred chiefly on the sides of slopes, and in the midst of forests of eucalypti, where I should have expected the hardest kind of surface. We made the Namoi however in good time; this being the first of our former stages which we had been able to accomplish in one day since the wet weather commenced. The late rains had produced no change in the waters of this river; a circ.u.mstance showing perhaps that less had fallen in the south-east than on the plains where we had been.

None of the kind of fish that we most prized (Gristes peelii) could now be caught in this river, though abundance of that which the men commonly called bream (Cernua bidyana) a very coa.r.s.e but firm fish which makes a groaning noise when taken out of the water; and here it may be observed that the colour of the cod or Peel's perch was lighter, and that of the eel-fish (tanda.n.u.s) darker in the Karaula than in any other river.

REGAIN THE NAMOI.

February 24.

A fine cool morning. I attempted to cut off a slight detour in our old track by travelling nearer to the course of the Namoi; but a soft and swampy flat soon compelled me to seek the former wheel-marks, and even to proceed still nearer to the base of the hills, for the sake of hard ground. We next travelled westward of our line, thus crossing an excellent tract of country; and without further impediment we arrived on Maule's creek, which we crossed with all our carts and equipment to encamp on the left bank. The limpid stream was not much, if at all, augmented.

From this side of the country, now that smoke no longer obscured the horizon, the outline of the great range was very bold, a lofty and very prominent pyramid crowning the most elevated south-western extremity, and forming as important a point for the survey of the country to the south-west as Mount Riddell presents for that towards the north-west.

This point I named Mount Forbes after my friend Captain Forbes, 39th Regiment, then commanding the mounted police in New South Wales. That great range presents three princ.i.p.al heads, of which Mounts Riddell and Forbes are the northern and southern, the central or highest being Mount Lindesay.

February 25.

The party moved to the former encampment at Bullabalakit. In pa.s.sing near the place where we set up our tents on quitting the canvas boats, I sought my buried specimens of rocks, and found that, for once, I had been able to hide so that the natives could not find. The treasure however consisted only of stones. My notes addressed to Mr. Finch, which I had hidden in trees as we advanced, never escaped their notice, neither had the provisions left for the use of my unfortunate courier Bombelli at the camp we now again occupied been suffered to remain where we had cautiously buried them. All the planks of sawn timber left at our old saw-pit had been collected in a heap and partly burnt.

From the hill over the camp the view of the horizon was at length un.o.bscured by smoke, and I found it possible to connect the distant points of the Nundewar range, with those then between us and the colony.

Many hills which I had not before seen to the eastward were also visible.

A heavy thundershower fell in the afternoon, and it was accompanied by a violent gale of wind which blew down Mr. White's tent, and very materially injured mine.

TWO STRANGERS ON HORSEBACK.

February 26.

The party continued towards that portion of the Namoi at which we first arrived on advancing into those desolate regions, and we pa.s.sed our old encampment beside The Barber's stockyard near Tangulda. After travelling about eight miles we met Mr. Brown of Wallamoul and his stockman on horseback. They had followed our track thus far on the information they had received from the native, Mr. Brown, and were proceeding to examine The Barber's stockyard. They informed us that our native guide confessed to them that his dread of the savage natives had induced him to return.

The men caught several large cod (Peel's perch) one of which weighed 13 pounds. The river remained unswollen.