This However Was Not Accomplished Without Great Toil, The Country Traversed Being Red Soil Ridges, With Black Soil Tea-Tree Flats Between Them, Which Were So Many Bogs.

In these the cattle floundered and bogged at every hundred yards, and even the spare unladen horses had to be pulled out.

The latter were at length so completely knocked up that it was necessary to leave some of them at one side of a swamp, the party carrying their packs and loads about a quarter-of-a-mile on to a dry ridge on the other. Here they camped and tired as they were, were obliged to keep a vigilant watch, as, to add to their many annoyances the natives had been following them all day. Distance 10 miles N.E. by N. Box marked F.J. 68 cross.

'January' 14. - At daylight this morning the horses were got over the swamp, with less difficulty than was expected, being recruited by their night's rest. The journey was resumed at 6.30. There had been no rain on the previous day and night, and the ground with only this twenty-four hours of dry weather had hardened sufficiently on the crust to allow the horses to walk without bogging. This crust, however, once broken through, they bogged hopelessly, until dragged out with ropes. In this the water and sludge oozing out from the tracks were great auxiliaries, as they formed a kind of batter, in which, by pulling the horses on their sides, they slid along like sledges. This process had continually to be repeated throughout the day, causing so much delay, that seven or eight miles were with difficulty accomplished. At each running stream the packs had to be taken off and carried over. The country traversed was similar to that of yesterday, undulating blood-wood red soil ridges, sufficiently well-grassed, with the everlasting black soil, tea-tree flats, and gullies running between them, some being very wide. Two more horses died during the day from the effects of the poison, and the Leader owns that he was beginning to be at his wits end as to how they were to get along. Every superfluity and been abandoned, and, with the exception of a few light things, such as clothes and blankets, of too trifling weight to make it worth while to leave, and only what was absolutely necessary, retained; yet there were barely sufficient horses left to carry that. He had therefore good cause for anxiety. The day kept tolerably fair until the party came into camp, when the rain came down in torrents. Whilst in the hurry and confusion of putting up the tents to protect the stores from the deluge that was pouring, the alarm of "blacks" was again given. They were fortunately unarmed, and the party easily chased them away. This was fortunate, and was caused by the native custom of making the gins carry their spears and shields on the march, themselves only carrying a nulla or two.

Enter page number Go  Previous Next
Page 58 of 107
Words from 29881 to 30383 of 55599