Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery in North-West and Western Australia Volume II Part 7

(MR. WALKER'S PARTY.)

PARTY SENT IN SEARCH FROM PERTH.

I arrived at Perth on the 21st of April and not a moment was lost in preparing a party to go in search of the men I had left with Mr. Walker, and who, it will be recollected, were instructed to proceed along the coast until they made the Moore River, where a.s.sistance was to be sent out to them from Perth.

SEARCH FOR THE OTHER PARTY.

Accordingly on the 23rd of April Lieutenant Mortimer of the 21st regiment and Mr. Spofforth, with four soldiers, left Perth and arrived on the Moore River in two days; but after traversing its banks in vain for two days more they abandoned all hope of finding those they were in search of there, and pursued a straight course about 25 miles further north, when they fell in with another river where they formed a depot, and detours were made in various directions for several days without any avail.

RETURN WITH CHARLES WOODS.

At length, on one of these excursions, the seaman Charles Woods, one of my party, was found by Mr. Spofforth, lying on the beach, wrapped in his blanket and fast asleep. He soon awoke and was not a little delighted to recognise Mr. Spofforth whom he had seen before at Fremantle. By the account Woods gave it appears that from the period of my departure much disorder and discontent at the direction of their course prevailed among the men. They frequently left the beach and wandered inland to procure water and food, not sufficiently exerting themselves to advance southward. They had succeeded, he said, in procuring upon the whole about a dozen birds, a crab, and eighteen fish. On the 21st of April Mr.

Walker, who had frequently exerted himself in procuring firewood and water for the weaker of the party, divided two dough cakes still remaining in his possession among them all. They were then upon the beach, and though still at a great distance from the appointed place of rendezvous the men were very unwilling to distress themselves to reach it, being persuaded they should be tracked, wherever they might be, by the natives whom I should send to their help. Woods, being dissatisfied with their slow progress, now quitted them at a place where, he says, they had to go round two very deep bays close together, which took him a whole day; and it was owing to his having obeyed my instructions more strictly than the others that he was found by Mr. Spofforth. Woods, who seemed to have a singularly accurate idea of the distance he was from Perth when found, added that he thought he could have walked to it had he not been discovered, although he had nothing to eat but a few native figs; and that he thought the whole of the party were getting more accustomed to native food and were latterly better than they had been at first; he said he felt so himself.

SECOND PARTY IN SEARCH, UNDER MR. ROE.

Lieutenant Mortimer's party, having made every exertion but in vain to find the five remaining persons, were compelled at the end of a fortnight by want of provisions to return to Perth, where they arrived on the 6th of May; and early the next morning the Surveyor-General, Mr. Roe, accompanied by Mr. Spofforth (who again volunteered his services) four men, and two native youths, with five horses, set out in search of those still missing.

ARRIVAL OF MR. WALKER AT PERTH. JOURNAL OF MR. WALKER'S PARTY.

On the 9th of May, two days after the departure of Mr. Roe's party, Mr.

Walker came into Perth alone, and from his statement, together with what was gleaned subsequently from the other men, I shall here briefly narrate what befel them after my departure on the 10th of April.

NARRATIVE OF THEIR PROCEEDINGS FROM WATER PEAK.

On the next day they started at dawn and soon came to a great deal of scrub; this was the belt of thick wood mentioned in my journal. Mr.

Walker says the men, being disheartened at this, they went down to the beach and halted about a mile from it; Water Peak Hill being distant about fifteen miles. Woods said much discontent was caused amongst the men by its being conceived that they were following a bad course; or, according to Ruston's expression, that "the steering was very bad."

April 12.

They found a river with pools of water in coa.r.s.e gravel in which they caught here two small fish, and travelled six miles through the scrub along a native path.

April 13.

They started and went down towards the beach. The men cut and cooked some greens but found no water. Travelled twelve or fourteen miles along the beach.

Sunday April 14.

They shot a pigeon, two red-bills, and a hawk. In the afternoon it rained, and they travelled along the beach and got some c.o.c.kles, and found a fine stream of water running out from under the rocks. They then got under the scrub to keep the rain off, having made about eight miles.

April 15.

They again came out on the beach and kept along it. Good travelling. Made a march of nearly twenty miles.

EXTREME DISTRESS FROM HUNGER AND THIRST.

April 16.

They continued on the beach till they came to a good place for fis.h.i.+ng and caught eighteen. Mr. Walker shot a bird. After eating the fish, they were all very thirsty.

April 17.

Went into the interior about midday and found a native well six miles inland; also a large cave in the rocks. The party here procured and ate some Zamia nuts.

April 18.

They were all sick from the nuts, and turned back to the beach about four miles but did not reach it.

April 19.

This morning they reached the beach and travelled on until they came to some high rocks from whence they saw an immense tract of sand. Again this evening they went into the interior to find water. Boiled some young trees and ate them.

April 20.

They were travelling into the interior along the steep banks of a river running nearly east. Got plenty of green stuff to eat. They had now two guns and the means of getting fire, but the powder and shot was nearly expended. The axe I left with them had been lost soon after.

April 21.

Woods left the others to proceed alone.

April 22.

Being the day after Woods left they went into the interior about six miles from the coast and there found a river, which Mr. Walker and Mr.

Smith thought was the Karpan (the Moore). This river was standing in pools, and there was a great rush of water from the hills; they traced the bed up for two or three miles, where it came out from some very high hills, when Mr. Smith said he was certain that it was not the Karpan.

They then made a south by west course, and thought where they came out was 12 miles below where Woods left them; and that the river was nearly halfway between these two points.

They now again turned into the interior, being, as they thought, at the bay to the south of Jurieu Bay.

April 23.

They returned and kept along the beach, made about fifteen miles, when they halted close to it.

April 24.

They went on for five or six miles, then halted and made a fire with the end of a spar.

April 25.

They travelled two or three hundred yards. Mr. Walker went back for the end of the spar and Mr. Smith cut some firewood. There they halted, catching fish and crabs.

April 26 and 27.

Still halted at this spot, fis.h.i.+ng, and caught parrot-fish, rock-cod, etc.; so that they had as much fish as they could use, and found fresh water in the holes of the rocks.

April 28.

They started at dawn and went on for a mile. Ruston was taken ill from the number of crabs he had eaten, and Mr. Walker stopped with him whilst the other three went on a mile ahead and got fish and periwinkles. Mr.

Smith, Stiles, and Clotworthy had a little water left; Ruston and Mr.

Walker had canteens half-full. Ruston got better in the evening but they did not proceed until the next morning.