EXPLORATIONS BY LEICHARDT.

It is further necessary to refer to another of the journeys of exploration which preceded my own--that of the unfortunate Leichardt. He endeavoured to cross the continent from east to west, starting from Moreton Bay, Queensland, hoping to reach the Western Australian settlements. In 1844 Leichardt had succeeded in crossing the north-western portion of the continent from Moreton Bay to Port Essington, and he conceived the gigantic project of reaching Western Australia. Towards the end of 1847, accompanied by eight men, with provisions estimated at two years' supply, he started on his journey. He took with him an enormous number of animals--180 sheep, 270 goats, 40 bullocks, 15 horses, and 13 mules. They must have greatly encumbered his march, and the difficulty of obtaining food necessarily much impeded his movements. His original intention was first to steer north, following for some distance his previous track, and then, as opportunity offered, to strike westward and make clear across the continent. After disastrous wanderings for seven months, in the course of which they lost the whole of their cattle and sheep, the party returned.

Disappointed, but not discouraged, Leichardt resolved on another attempt to achieve the task he had set himself. With great difficulty he obtained some funds; organized a small but ill-provided party, and again started for the interior. The last ever heard of him was a letter, dated the 3rd of April, 1848. He was then in the Fitzroy Downs; he wrote in good spirits, hopefully as to his prospects: "Seeing how much I have been favoured in my present progress, I am full of hopes that our Almighty Protector will allow me to bring my darling scheme to a successful termination."

THE FATE OF LEICHARDT.

From that day the fate of Leichardt and his companions has been involved in mystery. He was then on the Cogoon River, in Eastern Australia, at least 1500 miles from the nearest station on the western side of the continent. His last letter gives no clue to the track he intended to pursue. If a westerly course had been struck he would have nearly traversed the route which subsequently Warburton travelled; but no trace of him has ever been discovered. Several expeditions were undertaken to ascertain his fate; at various times expectations were aroused by finding trees marked L; but Leichardt himself, on previous journeys, had met with trees so marked, by whom is unknown. Natives found in the remote interior were questioned; they told vague stories of the murder of white men, but all investigations resulted in the conclusion that the statements were as untrustworthy as those generally made to explorers who question uninformed, ignorant natives. The white man's experience is usually that a native only partially comprehends the question; he does not understand what is wanted, but is anxious to please, as he expects something to eat, and he says what he thinks is most likely to be satisfactory.

Leichardt was certainly ill-provided for an expedition of the magnitude he contemplated, and it appears to be at the least as probable that he succumbed to the hardships he encountered, or was swept away by a flood, as that he was murdered by the blacks. Twenty-seven years have elapsed since he disappeared in the interior; yet the mystery attending his fate has not ceased to excite a desire to know the fate of so daring an explorer, and ascertain something definite respecting his course--a desire which was one of the principal motives that prompted my first expedition into the unknown interior dividing the west from the east.

In 1872, Mr. Giles headed an exploring party from Melbourne, which succeeded in making known a vast district hitherto unexplored; but his progress was stopped, when he had reached longitude 129 degrees 40 minutes, by a large salt lake, the limits of which could not be ascertained. In the following year Mr. Gosse, at the head of a party equipped by the South Australian Government, started from nearly the same point of the telegraph line, and at the same period as the Warburton expedition, but was compelled to return after eight months' absence, having reached longitude 126 degrees 59 minutes. Gosse found the country generally poor and destitute of water. He was perhaps unfortunate in experiencing an unusually dry season; but his deliberate conclusion was, "I do not think a practicable route will ever be found between the lower part of Western Australia and the telegraph line."

VARIOUS EXPEDITIONS.

At the instance of Baron Von Mueller, and assisted by a small subscription from the South Australian Government, Mr. Giles made a second attempt to penetrate westward. He reached the 125th degree of east longitude, and discovered and traversed four distinct mountain ranges, on one of which Mr. Gosse shortly afterwards found his tracks. One of his companions, Mr. Gibson, lost his way and perished in the desert, and therefore Mr. Giles turned his face eastwards, and, after an absence of twelve months, reached Adelaide. He encountered many perils, having been nine times attacked by the natives, probably in the attempt to obtain water; and on one occasion was severely wounded and nearly captured.

On the 20th March, 1874, Mr. Ross, with his son and another European, three Arabs, fourteen horses, and sixteen camels, started from the telegraph line, near the Peake station in South Australia. He was compelled to return through want of water, although, soon after starting, he had greatly reduced the number of his party by sending back three of his companions, two of the horses, and twelve of the camels.

Such, in brief, have been the results of the efforts made to cross Australia between the telegraph line and the west coast, and ascertain the probability of establishing a practicable route. I have referred to them to show how persistent has been the desire to achieve the exploit, and how little daunted by repeated failures have been Australian explorers. I now propose to relate my own experiences--the results of three journeys of exploration, conducted by myself. The first was undertaken in the hope of discovering some traces of Leichardt; the second nearly retraced the route of Eyre; the third was across the desert from Western Australia to the telegraph line in South Australia. The first journey did not result in obtaining the information sought for; the second and third journeys were successfully accomplished.

CHAPTER 2.

FIRST EXPEDITION IN SEARCH OF LEICHARDT.

Statements made by the Natives.
An Expedition prepared.
Leader appointed.
Official Instructions.
The Journal.

Early in 1869, Dr. Von Mueller, of the Melbourne Botanic Gardens, a botanist of high attainments, proposed to the Government of Western Australia that an expedition should be undertaken from the colony for the purpose of ascertaining, if possible, the fate of the lost explorer, Leichardt. Reports had reached Perth of natives met with in the eastern districts, who had stated that, about twenty years before (a date corresponding with that of the last authentic intelligence received from Leichardt), a party of white men had been murdered. This tale was repeated, but perhaps would not have made much impression if a gentleman, Mr. J.H. Monger, when on a trip eastward in search of sheep-runs, had not been told by his native guide that he had been to the very spot where the murder was committed, and had seen the remains of the white men. His story was very circumstantial; he described the spot, which, he said, was near a large lake, so large that it looked like the sea, and that the white men were attacked and killed while making a damper--bread made of flour mixed with water, and cooked on hot ashes. So certain was he as to the exact locality, that he offered to conduct a party to the place.

This appeared like a trustworthy confirmation of the reports which had reached the colony, and created a great impression, so that the Government felt it a duty incumbent on them to make an effort to ascertain the truth of this statement, and Dr. Von Mueller's offer to lead an expedition was accepted.

I was then, as now, an officer of the Survey Department, and employed in a distant part of the colony. I was ordered to repair to headquarters, to confer with the authorities on the subject, and was offered the appointment of second in command and navigator. This was a proposition quite in accordance with my tastes, for I had long felt a deep interest in the subject of Australian exploration, and ardently desired to take my share in the work. I at once arranged the equipment of the expedition, but, while so engaged, the mail from Melbourne brought a letter from Dr. Von Mueller, to the effect that his other engagements would not permit him to take the lead as proposed, and I was appointed to take his place in the expedition.

OFFICIAL INSTRUCTIONS.

The Honourable Captain Roe, R.N., the Surveyor-General, who had himself been a great explorer, undertook the preparation of a set of Instructions for my guidance; and they so accurately describe the objects of the journey, and the best modes of carrying them out, that I transcribe the official letter:--

Survey Office, Perth,
13th April, 1869.

Sir,

His Excellency the Governor having been pleased to appoint you to lead an expedition into the interior of Western Australia for the purpose of searching for the remains of certain white men reported by the natives to have been killed by the aborigines some years ago, many miles beyond the limits of our settled country, and it being deemed probable that the white men referred to formed part of an exploring party under the command of Dr. Leichardt, endeavouring to penetrate overland from Victoria to this colony several years ago, I have been directed to furnish the following instructions for your guidance on this interesting service, and for enabling you to carry out the wishes of the Government in connexion therewith.

2. Your party will consist of six persons in the whole, well armed, and made up of Mr. George Monger as second in command, Mr. Malcolm Hamersley as third in command, a farrier blacksmith to be hired at Newcastle, and two well-known and reliable natives, Tommy Windich and Jemmy, who have already acquired considerable experience under former explorers.

3. An agreement to serve on the expedition in the above capacities has been prepared, and should be signed by each European member of the party previous to starting.

4. A saddle-horse has been provided for each member of the party, together with ---- pack-horses to transport such portions of the outfit as cannot be carried by the former. A three-horsed cart will also accompany the expedition as far as may be found practicable through the unsettled country, and thereby relieve the pack-horses as much as possible.

5. All preparations for the journey being now complete, it is desirable that you should lose no time in starting, so as to arrive at the commencement of the unexplored country by the end of the present month, or beginning of the expected winter rains. It has been, however, already ascertained from native information that a considerable quantity of rain has recently fallen over the regions to be explored, and that no impediment may be anticipated from a scarcity of water there.

6. The route to be followed might advantageously commence at Newcastle, where some of your party and several of your horses are to be picked up, and thence proceed north-easterly to Goomaling, and 100 miles further in the same general direction, passing eastward to Mounts Chunbaren and Kenneth of Mr. Austin's, to the eastern farthest of that explorer, in 119 degrees East and 28 3/4 degrees South. Thence the general north-easterly route of the expedition must be governed by the information afforded by your native guides as to the locality in which they have reported the remains of white men are to be found.

7. On arriving at that spot, the greatest care is to be taken to bring away all such remains as may be discovered by a diligent search of the neighbourhood. By friendly and judicious treatment of the local natives, it is also probable that several articles of European manufacture which are said to be still in their possession might be bartered from them, and serve towards identifying their former owners. The prospect of obtaining from the natives, at this remote date, anything like a journal, note-book, or map, would indeed be small; but the greatest interest would be attached to the smallest scrap of written or printed paper, however much defaced, if only covered with legible characters. A more promising mode by which the former presence of European explorers on the spot might be detected is the marks which are generally made on the trees by travellers to record the number or reference to a halting-place, or the initials of some of the party. Thus the letter L has in several instances been found by searching parties to have been legibly cut on trees in the interior of the eastern colonies, and in localities supposed to have been visited by the eminent explorer alluded to. It is needless to point out that metal articles, such as axes, tomahawks, gun and pistol barrels, iron-work of pack-saddles, and such like, would be far more likely to have survived through the lapse of years than articles of a more perishable nature.

8. After exhausting all conceivable means of obtaining information on the spot, and from the nature of surrounding country, an attempt should be made to follow back on the track of the unfortunate deceased, which is said to have been from the eastward and towards the settled part of this colony. Here a close and minute scrutiny of the trees might prove of great value in clearing up existing doubts, especially at and about any water-holes and springs near which explorers would be likely to bivouac.

9. After completing an exhaustive research and inquiry into this interesting and important part of your duties, the remainder of the time that may be at your disposal, with reference to your remaining stock of provisions, should be employed in exploring the surrounding country, in tracing any considerable or smaller stream it may be your good fortune to discover, and generally in rendering the service entrusted to your guidance as extensively useful and valuable to this colony as circumstances may admit.

10. Towards effecting this object, your homeward journey should, if possible, be over country not previously traversed by the outward route, or by any former explorers, and should be so regulated as to expose your party to no unnecessary risk on account of the falling short of supplies.

11. In your intercourse with the aborigines of the interior, many of whom will have no previous personal knowledge of the white man, I need scarcely commend to you a policy of kindness and forbearance mixed with watchfulness and firmness, as their future bearing towards our remote colonists may be chiefly moulded by early impressions.

12. To render the expedition as extensively useful as possible, I would urge you, in the interests of science, to make and preserve such specimens in natural history as may come within the reach of yourself and party, especially in the departments of botany, geology, and zoology, which may be greatly enriched by productions of country not yet traversed.

13. Direct reference to minor objects, and to matters of detail, is purposely omitted, in full reliance on your judgment and discretion, and on your personal desire to render the expedition as productive as possible of benefit to the colony and to science in general.

14. In this spirit I may add that the brief instructions herein given for your general guidance are by no means intended to fetter your own judgment in carrying out the main object of the expedition in such other and different manner as may appear to you likely to lead to beneficial results. In the belief that such results will be achieved by the energy and perseverance of yourself and of those who have so nobly volunteered to join you in the enterprise, and with confident wishes for your success, in which H.E. largely participates,

I remain, Sir,
Your obedient Servant,

J.S. ROE, Surveyor-General.

 

John Forrest, Esquire, Leader of Exploring Expedition to the North-East.

Mr. George Monger (brother of the gentleman who gave the information), who accompanied me as second in command, had previously been on an expedition to the eastward, and Jemmy Mungaro was the black who said he had seen the spot where the remains of the white men were. His persistence in the statement encouraged me to hope that I might be the first to announce positively the fate of the lost explorer; but I had then to learn how little dependence can be placed on the testimony of Australian aborigines.

On the 15th of April, 1869, I began the journey. I was well supplied with instruments for making observations, so as to ascertain our daily position. A knowledge of at least the leading principles of the art of navigation is as necessary to the explorer as to the mariner on the ocean. Our stock of provisions consisted of 800 pounds of flour, 270 pounds of pork, 135 pounds of sugar, and 17 pounds of tea; and we each took two suits of clothes.

The party were all in good spirits. For myself I was hopeful of success, and my white companions shared my feelings. The natives were, as they generally are, except when food is scarce, or their anger excited, on the best terms with everybody and everything, and Jemmy Mungaro, so far as could be judged from his demeanour, might have been the most veracious guide who ever led a party of white men through difficulties and dangers on an expedition of discovery.

Day by day I noted down the incidents of the journey, and that Journal I now submit to the reader.