The Explorers (44 page)

The search was now left to me alone and my first care was to ascertain whether Edward had reached the summit and taken the maps with him; therefore, when crossing the snowfield, I looked carefully for his footprints, but though I could plainly make out those of the dog I could discover none of his. On reaching the top, I found my maps untouched and concluded that he had not succeeded in crossing the snowfield or in ascending the summit, and that, in his bewilderment, he had travelled down into the valley of the Snowy River.

After depositing some clear and precise directions with respect to the position of our camp, and the time I intended yet to stay on Mt Kosciusko, I turned back and reached the camp at twelve o'clock in a very depressed state, enhanced by finding that Edward had not returned during my absence. In the afternoon we could do nothing but rest and recover strength, hoping every moment to hear the footstep of our companion, but in vain. The gale was still blowing so hard from
NNW
that it was impossible to suspend and register the barometer Greiner; and Edward, having the only suitable instrument with him, we could not effect any observations. At 7 p.m., just as we had taken supper and it was already dark, our horse, who had been nibbling at some scanty herbage near the spot, made off and could not be found any more. It seems that the poor animal cared to stop no longer where he hardly could get anything to eat and had to suffer severely from a temperature of 37.5°.

Morning of the 21st cold and foggy. Got up at 4 a.m. and started with the intention of tracking the horse but without success. Weston, who went in another direction, returned at 7.45 a.m. without having seen a trace of him and it was now quite clear that he had tried to find his way to Groggan's station—no very pleasant prospect for us, being thus left without any means of transport and our stores fast running out. Sent Weston again with strict injunctions to descend towards the station till he found the horse. It was now my opinion that Edward must already have perished or, if he still survived, had taken such a course as to place him beyond all chance of assistance from us.

I therefore resolved to return to Groggan's station as soon as Weston should appear with the horse, which we had the satisfaction of seeing at 10 a.m. He had found him near the lower limit of the belt of dead timber; there is no doubt that, had it not been for the hobbles, he would have succeeded in reaching the station. In the course of the forenoon I made some few magnetic observations near the camp. On the track leading towards Groggan's station, the theodolite was fixed on a stone to the east of which there was a mass of granite.

Leaving all the provisions yet in our possession and exact instructions to Edward, should he ever return to the camp, how to follow our track, we packed the horse and started, after having given three cheers for the missing man. While descending I made it a point to blaze all the trees in such a manner that even a man in a reduced state of body would be able to follow the track. During all this time we were still in hope that our friend might have gained the station before us, thus rendering our labour useless.

Arrived at the Leather Jacket again by 4 p.m. Had great difficulty in getting the horse, in its exhausted state, up the Groggan's side of the banks of the creek. The brave animal tried it three times, and on each occasion succeeded in reaching a height of eighty feet, but rolled back again and there remained. There was no other course left but to unpack and carry the things ourselves to the top of the hill. Got to Groggan's station at last by 7.15 p.m., but heard nothing of our friend…

Strong winds from the NW accompanied by rain and dense fog seem to prevail here at times. On the first day the weather was tolerably fair and quite calm, but the sun being scarcely visible through the thick veil covering the sky indicated the approach of one of these gales. I regretted very much that in consequence of the absence of Edward, who carried the only suitable barometer for such occasions, it was impossible to record the oscillations in the pressure of the air during this NW gale, the comparison of which with observations made at the sea-level or in other localities of the mountainous part of the country would have proved of considerable interest.

The force of the wind was, at times, really fearful, so much so that it was thoroughly impossible to make any headway against it and I do not think I shall be far out in estimating it at from 40 to 45 pounds on the square foot. The unfortunate affair with Edward interfered greatly with the scientific objects during my stay on the mount, my time being entirely taken up in looking for him, and the idea continually preying on my mind that he would not be able to make for the settled districts and thus extricate himself from his very perilous position. I was therefore now determined to hurry to Omeo and secure the assistance of the police, for the purpose of instituting another search after the poor fellow…

[3 December 1862]—The day very hot, and a haze, caused by bushfires, over the whole sky, so that nothing of the fine mountain scenery was visible. Returned to the Devil's Creek and arrived at Porepankah, on the crossing place of the Ovens River at 5 p.m. At Sleeve's place got some information about the road to Yackandandah, twenty-five miles from here. After leaving Sleeve's place on the 4th, we went up a steep gap (1688); found it very fatiguing, the weather being fearfully hot, and then descended into the Happy Valley (918). The creek here spread out into a swamp of considerable width and the crossing of it was very difficult. Had to construct a sort of bridge of brushwood over which our horses, when unpacked, might venture.

Mr Twynham, notwithstanding, fell into the mud together with his horse and we found it hard work to extricate him. Had to carry all our instruments and other things on our backs. Missed Edward very much, for it was very hard for me to attend to such things as I have just described, and conduct my observations as well. Steering about
NE
along a swamp lying between granite hills 800 feet high, we reached Barwoodgee (1160) at 4 p.m. Had to stop here in consequence of M. de Guérard having lost some things on the road and being obliged to go back for them. Fixed upon a station and made some magnetical and astronomical observations.

A calm, dull morning with sky overcast on the 5th…Started early and, travelling on a very fair track, through a slightly undulating country, we reached Yackandandah at noon. Went on to Adam's Flat gold diggings, about four to five miles from Yackandandah. M. de Guérard remained here for the night, in order to have an opportunity of speaking to Mr Lane, the police magistrate, about Edward and asking his advice as to the best mode of instituting an inquiry after him. He overtook us on the road and we arrived together at Belvoir at 11 a.m. on the 6th.

Our anxiety on approaching this place may be imagined, for we still entertained the hope that Edward might have made for it, knowing that we had left our waggon there and would be sure to direct our course thither as soon as we could. Went to the police court, but could hear nothing of him, so that the last hope of his safety was now quite destroyed.

Sat down to dinner, and had hardly done so when the lost man made his appearance in a most deplorable condition, having been without food and clothes for some time. My conjectures as to the route he had taken proved to be correct. Soon after leaving us on Mt Kosciusko, he endeavoured to return but missed the track to the camp and descended into the valley of the Thredbo River. For two days he wandered on, with scarcely anything to eat, until he fell in with some diggers in a lonely valley, who behaved most kindly to him and assisted him in making his way to Kiandra. From this place he worked his way to Albury, where he arrived on the same morning on which we reached Belvoir—a strange coincidence when we consider that we both had travelled upwards of 300 miles, in quite different directions, since parting on Mt Kosciusko.

I cannot quit this most annoying affair without expressing my appreciation of Edward's courageous behaviour, after separating from our party, and of the skill and care he bestowed upon the instruments entrusted to his charge; for the fine mountain barometer Fortin II did not receive the least injury during the whole of this rough and perilous journey.

† Numbers in parentheses indicate feet above sea level.

A
LEXANDER AND
F
RANK
J
ARDINE

The Battle of the Mitchell, 1864

During 1864–65, the Jardine brothers drove a small herd of cattle north from Rockhampton to Somerset at the tip of Cape York. Hailed at the time as ‘a brilliant achievement in exploration', their travels today read as one of the most disgraceful episodes in Australian exploration history. The frankness with which their journal tells the story of the ‘battle of the Mitchell', as they called their most brutal murder of local Aborigines, reveals much about the mores of frontier life in north Queensland in the last half of the nineteenth century. It makes shameful reading.

December 18—The river was followed down today for nine miles through a complete network of anabranches, gullies and vine scrubs to another branch which may be called the true stream. It was thirty yards wide, deep and running strongly. Here the party had to camp for about three hours whilst the brothers searched for a good crossing. The cattle and pack-horses were crossed in safety, but some of the pack-bags got wetted in the passage. They were travelled another mile over to a sandstone bar, crossing another deep sheet of water that had been previously found. This stream had been explored in search of a ford for four miles further up but without success. It continued of the same width and appeared to do so much further.

This day, Sunday, was marked by the severest conflict the travellers had yet had with the natives, one which may well be dignified by the name of the Battle of the Mitchell. On arriving at the running stream before mentioned, whilst the cattle halted, the brothers and Eulah, taking axes with them to clear the scrub, went down to find a safe crossing. At about a mile and a half they came on to a number of blacks fishing; these immediately crossed to the other side, but on their return swam across again in numbers, armed with large bundles of spears and some nullahs, and met them.

The horsemen, seeing they were in for another row, now cantered forward towards the camp, determined this time to give their assailants a severe lesson. This was interpreted into a flight by the savages, who set up a yell and redoubled their pursuit, sending in their spears thick and fast. These now coming much too close to be pleasant (for some of them were thrown a hundred yards), the three turned suddenly on their pursuers and, galloping up to them, poured in a volley, the report of which brought down their companions from the camp, when the skirmish became general.

The natives at first stood up courageously, but either by accident or through fear, despair or stupidity, they got huddled in a heap in and at the margin of the water, when ten carbines poured volley after volley into them from all directions, killing and wounding with every shot with very little return, nearly all their spears having been expended in the pursuit of the horsemen. About thirty being killed, the leader thought it prudent to hold his hand, and let the rest escape. Many more must have been wounded and probably drowned, for fifty-nine rounds were counted as discharged.

On the return of the party to the cattle an incident occurred which nearly cost one of them his life. One of the routed natives, probably burning with revengeful and impotent hate, got into the water under the river bank and waited for the returning party, and as they passed threw a spear at Scrutton, before anyone was aware of his proximity. The audacious savage had much better have left it alone, for he paid for his temerity with his life.

Although the travellers came off providentially without hurt, there were many narrow escapes, for which some of them might thank their good fortune. At the commencement of the fight, as Alexander Jardine was levelling his carbine, a spear struck the ground between his feet, causing him to drop his muzzle and lodge the bullet in the ground a few yards in front of him. His next shot told more successfully…This is one of the few instances in which the savages of Queensland have been known to stand up in fight with white men, and on this occasion they showed no sign of surprise or fear at the report and effect of firearms…

December 21—The rain of last night continuing through the morning, the party had to start in the downpour. They crossed another large shallow sandy creek at four miles, coming from the eastward, running south-east. The camp was formed on a lagoon about a mile from the river bank. The country traversed was sandy, growing only coarse wiry grasses and spinifex, sandstone rock cropping out occasionally above the surface. The river was here a quarter of a mile wide, salt, and running strongly.

Before the pack-horses came up, a mob of blacks approached the camp and, getting up in the trees, took a good survey of the white intruders, but on one of the party going towards them they scampered off over the open ground towards the river, the recollection of the affair at the crossing place probably quickening their movements. Just at sundown, however, the sharp eyes of the black boys detected some of them actually trying to stalk the whites, using green boughs for screens.