142

WORST DIFFICULTIES SURMounted.

chatter as if I had a tertian ague. When half our work was completed, we breakfasted in the beautiful ravine, amidst the dark luxuriant vegetation of the tropics, formed by the pandanus, bamboo, and palm.

After breakfast, the men recommenced their labour on the road. About two P.M. it was completed, and we then loaded the ponies and set out. The poor animals were, however, so weak, that it was almost impossible to get them to move; they stumbled and fell repeatedly, and thus thereby not only injured themselves, but so delayed our movements, that we only made three miles and a half during the day, and then halted for the night on very elevated land, and in a good position, for we were on a little sandy rise, along the base of which ran a stream, distant about one hundred yards.

Having thus gained the elevated plains, I laid down to sleep, satisfied that the worst of our labours were over; yet I could not but recollect that it had taken us ten days to reach a spot which by the proper route was only a short day's journey from the valley we were first encamped in, and that in our march through the country we had been compelled to traverse, we had lost seven ponies, and injured many of those remaining; all these difficulties arose from our departure having been delayed so long, that the rains had set in and so flooded the country, that we could not proceed by the proper route.

CHAPTER VIII.

TO THE GLENELG RIVER.

MEETING AND ENCOUNTER WITH THE NATIVES-UNFORTUNATE RESULTS-DESCENT FROM THE SANDSTONE RANGEDESCRIPTION OF A NEW VOLCANIC COUNTRY-DISCOVERY AND CHARACTER OF THE GLENELG RIVER-IMPEDIMENTS FROM MARSHES AND STREAMS-PROGRESS TOWARDS THE UPPER PART OF THE GLENELG.

February 11.-THE stores we had left behind yesterday were so necessary to us, that I was fearful they might be injured or destroyed if left exposed in the bush beyond to-day, and therefore despatched a party, under Mr. Lushington, for them.

Some time after they were gone, I started from the encampment on foot, with the intention of choosing a track for our route next day, as well as of endeavouring to fall in with my former track in this direction; for by so doing I should be enabled to get the party on the good land without further impediment, and at the same time to complete my map of this part of the country.

I was accompained by Corporal Coles and a finelooking young man about twenty years of age, from the Cape of Good Hope, leaving three men at the camp. Soon after my departure, these men heard the voices of natives in the woods, and presently they appeared themselves in numbers which rapidly in

144 GATHERING OF NATIVES ABOUT THE CAMP.

creased until there were collected together about two hundred men, women, and children. The party at the tents instantly got under arms, and posted themselves on the brow of the hill, on which our tents stood; whilst at some distance from its base, and on the opposite side of the stream, the natives were assembled.

The advance of a large armed body from the woods, seemed now to indicate that a hostile movement was about to be made; one of my party therefore shouted out to them in a threatening tone, motioning to them at the same time to go away. The natives immediately answered the shout, then halted, and after apparently consulting together for some time, retired a little. The party at the tents simultaneously took counsel together, and agreeing that it would be imprudent in their small number to hold intercourse, under the existing circumstances, with so large a body of natives, it was resolved not to allow them to approach beyond a certain point, and in the event of any armed portion passing the stream towards the tents in disregard of their signals, then to fire on them one by one.

In the meantime, the women and little children moved round the hill, examining every thing with the most intense delight: a pony which was in front of the camp more particularly excited their attention; the little children laughed loudly at it, and appeared also to laugh at the party themselves, regarding them much the same way that little boys do a stranger in foreign costume, when he appears

PROCEEDINGS AT THE CAMP.

145

in the streets of a country village in England. The native men regarded the pony more seriously; they walked round and round, examining it carefully, and when the little stallion, becoming playful from these marks of attention, neighed, put down his head, and prepared to fight and kick vigorously, they all beat a precipitate retreat.

The party at the tents overlooked all their movements, and heard every word that was uttered. They describe the language this people spoke as clear, distinct, and agreeable to the ear; the men they observed to be a fine race, tall and athletic: two were remarked in particular, one of whom was very tall, and had his forehead and face painted with white, (their sign of mourning, and that there is a death to avenge ;) whilst the other was of a far lighter shade of colour than the rest, and these two appeared to direct the general movements.

After some time, distant shouts were heard from other natives in the direction in which my party had seen me go; and a large body of the native men instantly hurried off in that quarter, headed by the tall man and the light-coloured one I have just mentioned. Then ensued a pause of about two hours, during which the native women and children wandered about in the distance, conversing in groups: suddenly was heard shouts, as of distress, from the same quarter, which were answered by the natives in front of the camp, when all moved off in a hurried manner, and were seen there no more. But in the interim another scene connected with this had been passing at a distance.

146

EVENTS IN TRACING A ROAD.

On quitting the camp in the morning, I and my two companions traversed for some time portions of the elevated sandstone plains which I had passed on a former occasion; and after an hour's walking through the gloomy stringy bark forest which covered them, we reached a stream of water running in a shallow valley; and as there was a bad route down to this, I halted to make a road which the ponies could traverse. There was plenty of water and forage hereabouts, and a fine level country for our proceedings, so that we were all in high hopes and spirits, and, as I then believed, our principal difficulties were at an end.

Whilst at work at the road we all thought that we heard a native call, and that others answered him; having listened for a repetition of these sounds, we again heard them, but they were so indistinct in character that none of us this time agreed as to what they were-I imagined that it was the call of a bird, and when I again heard the same sound very faintly in the distance, I felt convinced it was not a human voice, and proceeded on my way perfectly at ease.

My attention was soon occupied by other objects, I saw from a hill I ascended, some remarkable blue peaks to the south: this gave us fresh hopes; and nothing occurred till about three-quarters of an hour after we had first heard the native call, when we arrived at a short descent covered with rocks, from which started a large kangaroo; I got a fair shot at, and knocked it over, but it sprang up again