"The chances of success would, of course, be greater if they did," replied
the officer, "but still it is not absolutely necessary."
"Well," said Jack, "suppose you take the pilot boat, and go up the river,
which will take much longer to explore than the ranges; and, at the end of
a week, we shall have got our own affairs pretty straight, and will beat
all the country at the back, and join you on the Macalister. What do you
think of that, mates?" he added, turning to the company. "Won't that suit
us all?"
"Capitally!" was echoed from every side, and after sundry drinks the party
broke up; Dunmore and I hastening to make immediate preparations for our
new trip.
The Macalister River was at this time most imperfectly known; for, lying to
the extreme north of Rockingham Bay, its fertile banks had hitherto
attracted little or no attention; the great sugar industry being then
comparatively in its infancy in Queensland. A dangerous bar at its mouth,
over which heavy rollers were always breaking, made pleasure-seekers rather
shy of attempting its entry, more particularly as the muddy mangrove flats
held out small hope of aught save mosquitoes and blacks. Since then the
sugar-cane has become one of the chief sources of wealth to the colony,
and, in the search for land adapted to its growth, the Macalister was not
likely to remain long in obscurity. Along its beautiful banks were
discovered many thousands of acres of magnificent black soil country,
without a stick of timber to impede the plough, over which a furrow, miles
in length, could have been turned without an inch of deviation being
necessary.
Where the wretched bark 'gunyah' of the native stood, is now found the
well-finished house of the planter; and where the savage pastimes of the
'bora' ground once obtained, and the smoke from cannibal fires curled
slowly upwards to the blue vault of heaven, is heard the cheerful ring of
the blacksmith's hammer, the crack of the bullock-whip, as the team moves
slowly onward beneath the weight of seven-feet canes, and the measured
throb of machinery from the factory, where the crushed plant is yielding up
its sweets between the inexorable iron crushers. In this, our newest
world, improvements when once set afoot, proceed with marvellous celerity,
and a turn of Fortune's wheel may in a single year convert a howling
wilderness into a flourishing township. But I find myself digressing
again, and resisting rambling thoughts, must revert to our preparations for
the morrow.
[Illustrations KANGAROO. and ORNITHORHYNCHUS PARADOXUS.]
The meeting at which we had just been present, took place on the morning
following our return from the search on Hinchinbrook Island; and not only
was another day indispensable for the arrangements that were necessary, but
we also felt that one more night of comfortable rest would render us better
able to encounter the fatigues of the coming expedition. Only bushmen and
explorers can appreciate the intense enjoyment of a night of unbroken rest
between the sheets, after knocking about for a length of time, catching
sleep by snatches, and never knowing the luxury of undressing. Turning in
like a trooper's horse, "all standing," as the nautical phrase is, may be
an expeditious method of courting the sleepy god, but it certainly is not
the best for shaking off fatigue. Bound up in the garments you have
carried all day, the muscles are unable to relax to their full, the
circulation of the blood is impeded, and your slumber, though deep, is not
refreshing; more particularly when - as had happened to us on this last
trip - our boots were so soaked that we were afraid to take them off, lest
we should find it impossible to struggle into them in the morning.
Dunmore's camp was also some distance from the township, and he had to
visit it to find out how matters had gone on in his absence, to get another
trooper in the place of poor Cato, and to replenish his exhausted wardrobe
and ammunition.
But I will not occupy the reader with all these minor details, nor with the
numberless little trifles that it devolves upon the leader of such an
expedition to remember, suffice it to say that by noon on the following
day, all our preparations were completed, and we shoved off from the beach
in high spirits, the party consisting this time of nine, viz., Dunmore, the
pilot, two boatmen, Lizzie, three troopers, and myself, about as many as
the boat could carry comfortably. A rendezvous had been arranged on a
known portion of the river; the other expedition was to start in seven
days; and, according to our programme, if all went well, we should meet on
the tenth, or on the eleventh day at furthest.
The sea-breeze was blowing steadily, cresting the tiny waves which sparkled
in the hot sun as they broke into foam, and under its grateful coolness we
glided comfortably along, with a flowing sheet. The bar at the mouth of
the Macalister was eighteen miles distant, and we hoped to cross it about
sunset, when the breeze would have dropped, and the passage through the
surf would be readily distinguishable; but our plans were completely upset
by one of the troopers espying smoke issuing from the scrub on a small
creek, that entered the bay about half-way between the town and the
Macalister.
"We had better have a look in here," said Dunmore, "there is no knowing
where we may stumble on some information."
Accordingly, the helm was put up, and we ran into the mouth of the inlet,
with the wind right aft. Beaching the boat on the soft sand, we sprang
out, and advanced cautiously in the direction of the smoke, but, after
several minutes of scrambling, we reached the fire only to find it
deserted, its original proprietors having seen our sudden alteration of
course, and sought the safety of the dense bush, where further search would
have been useless.
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