Journals Of Expeditions Of Discovery Into Central Australia And Overland From Adelaide To King George's Sound In The Years 1840-1: Sent By The Colonists Of South Australia By Eyre, Edward John
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"I Regret Extremely To Acquaint You, That On The Morning Of The 9th
September, One Of The Police Horses (Called
"Grey Paddy") kindly lent to
the Expedition by His Excellency the Governor, was found with his leg
broken, apparently from
The kick of another horse during the night, and I
was obliged to order him to be shot in consequence. With this exception,
no serious accident has occurred, and the whole of the party are in the
enjoyment of good health and spirits. As the Expedition will still be
absent, in all probability, upwards of five months, I have availed myself
of a kind offer from Dr. Harvey, to send his boat over to Adelaide, and
have sent Mr. Scott to receive any instructions his Excellency the
Governor, or the Committee, may wish to give relative to our future
proceedings; and immediately Mr. S. returns, I shall hurry up to Streaky
Bay with the supplies, and at once move on to the westward, my overseer
being now engaged in preparing for our forcing a passage through the
scrub, to the north-west of Streaky Bay, as soon as we arrive there with
the remainder of the party.
"I have the honour to be, Sir,
"Your obedient servant,
"EDW. JOHN EYRE."
"The Chairman of the Committee for promoting the Northern Expedition."
From the 9th to the 22nd of October, I was occupied a good deal at the
camp, having only one man and a native boy to attend to the tent, the
horses and the sheep, so that I was in a great measure confined at home,
occasionally only making short excursions to the town to superintend the
preparation of a large supply of horse-shoes, or visiting the stations of
some of the nearest country settlers. I had lately bought a kangaroo dog,
from the captain of an American whaler, and in these rambles had frequent
opportunities of trying my new purchase, both after emus and kangaroos,
but he was quite useless for hunting either, and did little credit to the
honesty of the person who sold him to me, and who had asked and received
a high price, in consideration of the animal being, as he assured me, of
a better description than ordinary. Of the natives of the district I saw
nothing whatever; the death of young Hawson, and the subsequent scouring
of the country by police, had driven them away from the occupied parts,
and forced them to the fastnesses of the hills, or to the scrubs; I was,
however, enabled by the kindness of Mr. Schurman, a German Missionary,
stationed at Port Lincoln, to obtain a limited collection of words and
phrases in the dialect of the district, and which I hoped might be of
some use to me hereafter. Mr. Schurman has since published a copious
vocabulary and grammar, of the language in use in this part of Australia.
On the 22nd, upon going into the settlement, I found the Government
cutter WATERWITCH at anchor in the harbour, having Mr. Scott on board,
and a most abundant supply of stores and provisions, liberally sent us by
his Excellency the Governor, who had also most kindly placed the cutter
at my disposal, to accompany and co-operate with me along the coast to
the westward.
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