Part 2 (1/2)
The box of instruland for the use of the expedition had been received, and opened in Adelaide The most important of them were two sextants, three prismatic compasses, two false horizons, and a baroood instrulasses of the other were not clear, and unfortunately the barometer was broken and useless, since it had the syphon tube, which could not be replaced in the colony I exceedingly regretted this accident, for I had been particularly anxious to carry on a series of observations, to determine the level of the interior I manufactured a barometer, for the tube of which I was indebted to Captain Frome, the Surveyor-General, and I took with ether with two brewer's ther point of water on Sykes'
principle The first of the barometers was unfortunately broken on the way up to Moorundi, so that I was a second time disappointed
It appears to me that the tubes of these delicate instruments are not secured with sufficient care in the case, that the corks placed to steady thereat intervals, and that the elasticity of the tube is consequently too great for the weight of raduated to 127 degrees only, were too low for the temperature into which I went, and consequently useless at times, when the terees
One of them was found broken in its case, the other burst when set to try the temperature, by the over expansion of mercury in the bulb
The party had left Adelaide in such haste that it becae the loads On Monday, the 18th, therefore I desired Mr Piesse to attend to this necessary duty, and not only to equalize the loads on the drays, and ascertain what stores we had, but to put everything in its place, so as to be procured at a moment's notice
The avenue at Moorundi presented a busy scene, whilst thethe provisions Morgan, who had the charge of the horse cart, had ed to snap one of the shafts in his descent into the Moorundi Flat, and was busy replacing it Brock, a guns the arms Others of the men were variously occupied, whilst the natives looked with curiosity and astonishment on all they saw At this time, however, there were not one over the Nile, to make their harvest on the settlers
On Monday I sent Flood into Adelaide with despatches for the Governor, and with letters for s we had overlooked, and as Mr Piesse reported to me on that day that the drays were reloaded, I directed him, after I had inspected them, to lash down the tarpaulines, and to warn the men to hold themselves in readiness to proceed on their journey at 8 a at Moorundi with Mr Eyre until Flood should return, I was unwilling that the party should lose any tiht it advisable to send the drays on, under Mr
Poole's charge, until such time as I should overtake him The spirit which at this time aniiven to thely the bullocks were yoked up, and all hands were at their posts at early dawn As, however, I was about to remain behind for a few days, it struck me that this would be a favourable opportunity on which to address the ly directed Mr Poole to assemble them, and with Mr Eyre and Mr Broent to join him in the flat, a little below the avenue I then explained to the at Moorundi for a few days after their departure I thought it necessary, in giving thee, to point out some of the duties I expected from them
That in the first place I had instructed Mr Poole toat sunset, ere to reilance frouard, and that as the safety of the calect with the utmost severity I then adverted to the natives, and interdicted all intercourse with the with my permission That as I attributed many of the acts of violence that had been co source, so I would strike the name of any man who should disobey th of the party fro of pay; or whoever I should discover encouraging any of the natives, but more particularly the native women, to the camp I next drew the attention of the men to themselves, and pointed out to the my hope that they would be cheerful and ready to assist one another, and that harmony would exist in the camp; that I expected the most ready obedience from all to their superiors; and that, in such case, they would on their part always find me alive to their comforts, and to their interests I then confirave to Flood the general superintendence of the stock; to Morgan the charge of the horses, and to each bullock-driver the charge of his own particular team To Brock I committed the sheep, with Kirby and Sullivan to assist, and to Davenport and Cowley (Joseph) the charge of the officers' tents I then said, that as they ht now be said to commence a journey, from which none of them could tell ould be permitted to return, it was a duty they owed the and protection of that Pohich alone could conduct the read a few appropriate prayers to the men as they stood uncovered before ht ed
The silence which had prevailed was broken by the cracks of whips, and the loud voices of the bullock-drivers The teams descended one after the other from the bank on which they had been drawn up, and filed past ular order The long line reached almost across the Moorundi flat, and looked extreetful of everything else, and I naturally turned hts to the future How many of those who had just passed me so full of hope, and in such exuberant spirits, would be permitted to return to their homes? Should I, their leader, be one of those destined to re it than the persevering and adventurous officer whose guest I was, and who shrank from the task I had undertaken My eyes followed the party as it ascended the gully on the opposite side of the flat, and turned northwards, the two officers leading, until the whole were lost to my view in the low scrub into which it entered I was unconscious of as passing around me, but when I turned to address my coentlemen who had been present, had left me to my meditations
In the afternoon Kusick, one of the mounted police, arrived with despatches from the Governor, and letters from my family He had ht reasonably expect on the Friday
Ast the first purchases that had been made was a horse for the service of the expedition, which had not very long before been brought in from Lake Victoria, Nadbuck's location, distant nearly 200wild for soovernht, but he took the fence soht and disappeared, nor could he be traced anywhere Luckily, however, Kusick had passed the horses belonging to the settlers at Moorundi, feeding at the edge of the scrub upon the cliffs, and aot more than 90 miles back to his old haunt He had, however, fallen into a trap, froain escape; but we had so him
Prior to the departure of the expedition from Adelaide, a considerable quantity of rain had fallen there Since our arrival at Moorundi also we could see heavy rain on the hills, although no shower fell in the valley of the Murray Kusick informed us that he had been in constant rain, and it was evident, fro upon thees We feared, therefore, and it eventually proved to be the case, that Flood would not be able to cross the Gawler on his return to us He was, in fact, detained a day in consequence of the swollen state of that little river, but swa day, at considerable risk both to himself and his animal He did not, in consequence, reach us until Saturday In anticipation, however, of his return on that day, we had sent Kenny, the policeman stationed at Moorundi as to accompany Mr Eyre, up the river in advance of us at noon, with Ta within readiness to follow them, as soon as Flood should arrive He did not, however, reach Moorundi until 5 pm
It took me soht, but at seven weFlood to rest hie his wearied animal for the one we had recovered, with Tenbury in front, left the settleht was cold and frosty, but the moon shone clear in a cloudless sky, so that ere enabled to ride along the cliffs, from which we descended to one of the river flats at 1 a fire, composed ourselves to rest
It may here be necessary, before I enter on any detail of the proceedings of the expedition, to explain the general nature of my instructions, the object of the expedition, and the reasons why, in some measure, contrary to the opinion of the Secretary of State, I preferred trying the interior by the line of the Darling, rather than by a direct northerly route from Mount Arden
As the reader will have understood, I wrote, in the year 1843, to Lord Stanley, the then colonialmy services to conduct an expedition into Central Australia It appeared to his Lordshi+p as well as to Sir John Barrow, to whom Lord Stanley referred my report, that the plan I had proposed was too extensive, and it was therefore determined to adopt a more modified one, and to limit the resources of the expedition and the objects it was to keep in view, to a certain tiation of certain facts After expressing his opinion as to theI had contemplated, ”There is, however,”
says Sir J Barrow, in a minute to the Secretary of State, ”a portion of the continent of Australia, to which he (Captain Sturt) adverts, that may be accomplished, and in a reasonable time and at a moderate expense
”He says, if a line be drawn frorees, NW, and another from Mount Arden due north, they will meet a little to the northward of the tropic, and there, I will be bound to say, a fine country will be discovered On what data he pledges himself to the discovery of this fine country is not stated It may, however, be advisable to allow Mr Sturt to realize the state of this fine country
”This, however, is not to be done by pursuing the line of the Darling to the latitude of Moreton Bay, which would lead hi of interest to be discovered, nor does it appear advisable to pursue the Darling to the point to which he and Major Mitchell have already been, for this reason His preparations will, no doubt, be made at Adelaide; from thence to the point in question is about 600 miles, and from this point to the fine country, a little beyond the tropic, is 700 ether make a journey of 1300 h Mount Arden, to the point where it crosses the for, therefore, of 500 miles, which is of no little importance in such a country as Australia
”But Mr Sturt assigns reasons for supposing that a range of mountains will be found about the 29th parallel of latitude, and Mr Eyre, whilst exploring the Lake he discovered to the northward of the Gulf of St
Vincent, Adelaide, notices rees Supposing, then, a range of mountains to exist about that parallel, their direction will probably be found to run fro and its branches; and in this case it may reasonably be concluded that these mountains form the division of the waters, and that all the branches of the several rivers (sonitude) which have been known to fall into the bays and gulfs on the W and NW coasts, between the parallels of 14 degrees and 21 degrees, have their sources on the northern side of this range of e exists, it is pretty evident, from e know of the southern rivers, adjuncts chiefly of the Darling, that sorees the surface rises to a sufficient height to cause a division of the waters, those on the northern side taking a northerly direction, and those on the southern side a southerly one
”To ascertain this point is worthy of a practical experie of the direction that mountains and rivers take, the bones and blood vessels of bodies terrestrial give us at least a picture of the body of that skeleton To these Mr Sturt will no doubt direct his particular attention, as constituting the reat features of the country, its principal productions in the anietable part of the creation, the state and condition of the original inhabitants, will render a great service to the geography of the southern part of Australia”
On this memorandum the Secretary of State observes, in a private letter to Captain Grey, that came to hand before the receipt of Lord Stanley's public despatch:--
”In considering Sir John Barrow's memorandu opinion is expressed against ascending the Darling in the first instance, and in favour ofa direct northerly course from Adelaide to Mount Arden I do not wish this to be taken as an absolute injunction, because I am aware that there may be local causes why the apparently circuitous route may after all be the easiest for the transport of provisions, and may really facilitate the objects of the expedition In like manner I do not wish to be understood as absolutely prohibiting a return by Moreton Bay, extensive as that deviation would be, if it should turn out that the exploration of the mountain chain led the party so far to the eastward as to be able to reach that point by a route previously known to Captain Sturt or to Major Mitchell, more easily than they could return on their steps down the Darling What Captain Sturt will understand as absolutely prohibited, is any atteions to the northward, so as to reach the reat rivers The present expedition will be li the existence and the character of a supposed chain of hills, or a succession of separate hills, trending down froreat natural division of the continent; to exa what rivers take their source in those eneral lie of the country to the NW of the supposed chain; and to the character of the soil and forests, as far as can be ascertained by such an investigation as shall not draw the party away from their resources, and shall make the south the constant base of their operations”
I presume, from the tenor of Sir John Barrow's memorandum, that he was not fully aware of the insurmountable difficulties the course he recoment as I did on such an occasion, and anxious as I was to act on the suggestions of the Secretary of State, the strongest grounds could alone have made me pursue a course different to that which had been recommended to me Certainly the fear of any ordinary difficulty would not have influenced me to reject the line pointed out, but I felt satisfied that if Lord Stanley and Sir John Barrow could be made aware of the nature of the country to the north of Mount Arden, and the reasons why I considered it would be , they would have concurred in opinion with me I would myself much rather have taken the line by Mount Arden, since it would have been a greater novelty, and I would have precluded the chance of any collision with the natives of the Darling, o, and at which Sir Thomas Mitchell had had a rupture with them in 1836 The journeys of Mr