Two Expeditions into the Interior of Southern Australia ? Complete(txt+pdf+epub+mobi电子书下载)

作者：Sturt, Charles

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Two Expeditions into the Interior of Southern Australia ? Complete试读：

SOUTHERN AUSTRALIA

1828,1829,1830,1831

NEW SOUTH WALES.

By Capt. CHARLES STURT, 39th Regt.

IN TWO VOLUMES

CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME

Purpose of this Chapter—Name of Australia—Impressions of its early Visitors—Character of the Australian rivers—Author's first view of Port Jackson—Extent of the Colony of New South Wales—its rapid advances in prosperity—Erroneous impressions—Commercial importance of Sydney—Growth of fine wool—Mr. M'Arthur's meritorious exertions—Whale-fishery—Other exports—Geographical features—Causes of the large proportion of bad soil—Connection between the geology and vegetation—Geological features—Character of the soil connected with the geological formation—County of Cumberland—Country westward of the Blue Mountains—Disadvantages of the remote settlers—Character of the Eastern coast—Rich tracts in the interior—Periodical droughts—The seasons apparently affected by the interior marshes—Temperature—Fruits—Emigrants: Causes of their success or failure—Moral disadvantages—System of emigration recommended—Hints to emigrants—Progress of inland discovery—Expeditions across the Blue Mountains—Discoveries of Mr. Evans, Mr. Oxley, and others—Conjectures respecting the interior.

EXPEDITION

MACQUARIE RIVER

Chapter.1. State of the Colony in 1828-29—Objects of the Expedition—

Departure from Sydney—Wellington Valley—Progress down the

Macquarie—Arrival at Mount Harris—Stopped by the marshes—

Encamp amidst reeds—Excursions down the river—Its

termination—Appearance of the marshes—Opthalmic affection of

the men—Mr. Hume's successful journey to the northward—

Journey across the plain—Second great marsh—Perplexities—

Situation of the exploring party—Consequent resolutions.2. Prosecution of our course into the interior—Mosquito Brush—

Aspect and productions of the country—Hunting party of natives—

Courageous conduct of one of them—Mosquitoes—A man

missing—Group of hills called New-Year's Range—Journey down

New-Year's Creek—Tormenting attack of the kangaroo fly—

Dreariness and desolation of the country—Oxley's Table Land—

D'Urban's Group—Continue our journey down New-Year's Creek

—Extreme Disappointment on finding it salt—Fall in with a tribe of

natives—Our course arrested by the want of fresh water—

Extraordinary sound—Retreat towards the Macquarie.3. Intercourse with the natives—Their appearance and condition—

Remarks on the Salt or Darling River—Appearance of the

marshes on our return—Alarm for safety of the provision party—

Return to Mount Harris—Miserable condition of the natives—

Circumstances attending the slaughter of two Irish runaways—

Bend our course towards the Castlereagh—Wallis's Ponds—Find

the famished natives feeding on gum—Channel of the

Castlereagh—Character of the country in its vicinity—Another

tribe of natives—Amicable intercourse with them—Morrisset's

chain of Ponds—Again reach the Darling River ninety miles

higher up than where we first struck upon it.4. Perplexity—Trait of honesty in the natives—Excursion on

horseback across the Darling—Forced to return—Desolating

effects of the drought—Retreat towards the colony—Connection

between the Macquarie and the Darling—Return up the banks of

the Macquarie—Starving condition of the natives.5. General remarks—Result of the expedition—Previous

anticipations— Mr. Oxley's remarks—Character of the Rivers

flowing westerly—Mr. Cunningham's remarks—Fall of the

Macquarie—Mr. Oxley's erroneous conclusions respecting the

character of the interior, naturally inferred from the state in which

he found the country—The marsh of the Macquarie merely a

marsh of the ordinary character—Captain King's observations—

Course of the Darling—Character of the low interior plain—The

convict Barber's report of rivers traversing the interior—Surveyor-

General Mitchell's Report of his recent expedition.6. CONCLUDING REMARKS—Obstacles that attend travelling into

the interior of Australia—Difficulty of carrying supplies—

Importance of steady intelligent subordinates—Danger from the

natives—Number of men requisite,—and of cattle and carriages—

Provisions—Other arrangements—Treatment of the natives—

Dimensions of the boat used in the second expedition.

APPENDIX

CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME

EXPEDITION DOWN THE

MORUMBIDGEE AND MURRAY RIVERS,

Chapter.1. INTRODUCTORY—Remarks on the results of the former

Expedition—The fitting out of another determined on—Its objects

—Provisions, accoutrements, and retinue—Paper furnished by

Mr. Kent—Causes that have prevented the earlier appearance of

the present work.2. Commencement of the expedition in November, 1829—Joined by

Mr. George M'Leay—Appearance of the party—Breadalbane

Plains—Hospitality of Mr. O'Brien—Yass Plains—Hill of Pouni—

Path of a hurricane—Character of the country between

Underaliga and the Morumbidgee—Appearance of that river—

Junction of the Dumot with it—Crossing and recrossing—

Geological character and general aspect of the country—Plain of

Pondebadgery—Few natives seen.3. Character of the Morumbidgee where it issues from the hilly

country—Appearance of approach to swamps—Hamilton Plains—

Intercourse with the natives—Their appearance, customs, &c.—

Change in the character of the river—Mirage—Dreariness of the

country—Ride towards the Lachlan river—Two boats built and

launched on the Morumbidgee; and the drays, with part of the

men sent back to Goulburn Plains.4. Embarkation of the party in the boats, and voyage down the

Morumbidgee—The skiff swamped by striking on a sunken tree—

Recovery of boat and its loading—Region of reeds—Dangers of

the navigation—Contraction of the channel—Reach the junction

of a large river—Intercourse with the natives on its banks—

Character of the country below the junction of the rivers—Descent

of a dangerous rapid—Warlike demonstrations of a tribe of natives

—Unexpected deliverance from a conflict with them—Junction of

another river—Give the name of the “Murray” to the principal

stream.5. Character of the country—Damage of provisions—Adroitness of

the natives in catching fish—The skiff broken up—Stream from

the North-East supposed to be the Darling—Change of country in

descending the river—Intercourse with the natives—Prevalence

of loathsome diseases among them—Apparent populousness of

the country—Junction of several small streams—The Rufus, the

Lindesay, &c.—Rainy and tempestuous weather—Curious

appearance of the banks—Troublesomeness of the natives—

Inhospitable and desolate aspect of the country—Condition of the

men—Change in the geological character of the country—The

river passes through a valley among hills.6. Improvement in the aspect of the country—Increase of the river—

Strong westerly gales—Chronometer broken—A healthier tribe of

natives—Termination of the Murray in a large lake—Its extent

and environs—Passage across it—Hostile appearance of the

natives—Beautiful scenery—Channel from the lake to the sea at

Encounter Bay—Reach the beach—Large flocks of water fowl—

Curious refraction—State of provisions—Embarrassing situation

—Inspection of the channel to the ocean—Weak condition of the

men—Difficulties of the return.7. Valley of the Murray—Its character and capabilities—Laborious

progress up the river—Accident to the boat—Perilous collision

with the natives —Turbid current of the Rufus—Passage of the

Rapids—Assisted by the natives—Dangerous intercourse with

them—Re-enter the Morumbidgee—Verdant condition of its banks

—Nocturnal encounter with the natives—Interesting manifestation

of feeling in one family—Reach the spot where the party had

embarked on the river—Men begin to fail entirely—Determine to

send two men forward for relief—Their return—Excursion on

horseback—Reach Pondebadgery Plain, and meet the supplies

from the colony—Cannibalism of the natives—Return to Sydney

—Concluding remarks.8. Environs of the lake Alexandrina—Appointment of Capt. Barker to

make a further survey of the coast near Encounter Bay—

Narrative of his proceedings—Mount Lofty, Mount Barker, and

beautiful country adjacent—Australian salmon—Survey of the

coast—Outlet of lake to the sea—Circumstances that led to the

slaughter of Capt. Barker by the natives—His character—

Features of this part of the country and capabilities of its coasts—

Its adaptation for colonization—Suggestions for the furtherance of

future Expeditions.APPENDIX TO THE SECOND VOLUME.1. Geological Specimens found to the south-west of Port Jackson2. Official Report to the Colonial GovernmentILLUSTRATIONS TO THE SECOND VOLUME1. The Opossum Hunt2. View on the Morumbidgee River3. Junction of the supposed Darling with the Murray4. Palaeornis melanura, or Black Tailed Paroquet5. Pomatorhinus temporalis Pomatorhinus superciliosus6. Chart of Cape Jervis, and Encounter Bay7. Mass of Fossils of the Tertiary Formation Bulla Conus Genus

Unknown8. Chrystallized Selenite Selenite9. Single Fossils of the Tertiary Formation

TWO EXPEDITIONS

SOUTHERN AUSTRALIA

THE EARL OF RIPON,

MY LORD,

The completion of this Work affords me the opportunity I have long desired of thanking your Lordship thus publicly, for the kindness with which you acceded to my request to be permitted to dedicate it to you.

The encouragement your Lordship was pleased to give me has served to stimulate me in the prosecution of a task, which would, I fear, have been too great for me to have accomplished in my present condition, under any ordinary views of ambition. Indeed, labouring as I have been for many months past, under an almost total deprivation of sight, (the effect of exposure and anxiety of mind in the prosecution of geographical researches,) I owe it to the casual assistance of some of my friends, that I am at length enabled to lay these results before your Lordship and the public.

While I feel a painful conviction that many errors must necessarily pervade a work produced under such unfavourable circumstances, it affords me no small consolation to reflect that Your Lordship has been aware of my situation, and will be disposed to grant me every reasonable indulgence.

I have the honor to be, With the highest respect, My Lord, Your Lordship's Very obedient and humble servant, CHARLES STURT

London, June, 1833.PRELIMINARY CHAPTERPurpose of this Chapter—Name of Australia—

Impressions of its early Visitors—Character of the Australian

rivers—Author's first view of Port Jackson—Extent of the

Colony of New South Wales—its rapid advances in prosperity

—Erroneous impressions—Commercial importance of

Sydney—Growth of fine wool—Mr. M'Arthur's meritorious

exertions—Whale-fishery—Other exports—Geographical

features—Causes of the large proportion of bad soil—

Connection between the geology and vegetation—

Geological features—Character of the soil connected with

the geological formation—County of Cumberland—Country

westward of the Blue Mountains—Disadvantages of the

remote settlers—Character of the Eastern coast—Rich tracts

in the interior—Periodical droughts—The seasons

apparently affected by the interior marshes—Temperature—

Fruits—Emigrants: Causes of their success or failure—Moral

disadvantages—System of emigration recommended—Hints

to emigrants—Progress of inland discovery—Expeditions

across the Blue Mountains—Discoveries of Mr. Evans, Mr.

Oxley, and others—Conjectures respecting the interior.

When I first determined on committing to the press a detailed account of the two expeditions, which I conducted into the interior of the Australian continent, pursuant to the orders of Lieutenant General Darling, the late Governor of the Colony of New South Wales, it was simply with a view of laying their results before the geographical world, and of correcting the opinions that prevailed with regard to the unexplored country to the westward of the Blue Mountains. I did not feel myself equal either to the task or the responsibility of venturing any remarks on the Colony of New South Wales itself. I had had little time for inquiry, amidst the various duties that fell to my lot in the ordinary routine of the service to which I belonged, when unemployed by the Colonial Government in the prosecution of inland discoveries. My observations had been in a great measure confined to those points which curiosity, or a desire of personal information, had prompted me to investigate. I did not, therefore, venture to flatter myself that I had collected materials of sufficient importance on general topics to enable me to write for the information of others. Since my return to England, however, I have been strenuously urged to give a short description of the colony before entering upon my personal narrative; and I have conversed with so many individuals whose ideas of Australia are totally at variance with its actual state, that I am encouraged to indulge the hope that my observations, desultory as they are, may be of some interest to the public. I am strengthened in this hope by the consideration that some kind friends have enabled me to add much valuable matter to that which I had myself collected. It is not my intention, however, to enter at any length on the commercial or agricultural interests of New South Wales. It may be necessary for me to touch lightly on those important subjects, but it is my wish to connect this preliminary chapter, as much as possible with the subjects treated of in the body of the work, and chiefly to notice the physical structure, the soil, climate, and productions of the colony, in order to convey to the reader general information on these points, before I lead him into the remote interior.

It may be worthy of remark that the name “Australia,” has of late years been affixed to that extensive tract of land which Great Britain possesses in the Southern Seas, and which, having been a discovery of the early Dutch navigators, was previously termed “New Holland.” The change of name was, I believe, introduced by the celebrated French geographer, Malte Brun, who, in his division of the globe, gave the appellation of Austral Asia and Polynesia to the new discovered lands in the southern ocean; in which division he meant to include the numerous insular groups scattered over the Pacific.

Australia is properly speaking an island, but it is so much larger than every other island on the face of the globe, that it is classed as a continent in order to convey to the mind a just idea of its magnitude. Stretching from the 115th to the 153rd degree of east longitude, and from the 10th to the 37th of south latitude, it averages 2700 miles in length by 1800 in breadth; and balanced, as it were, upon the tropic of that hemisphere in which it is situated, it receives the fiery heat of the equator at one extremity, while it enjoys the refreshing coolness of the temperate zone at the other. On a first view we should be led to expect that this extensive tract of land possessed more than ordinary advantages; that its rivers would be in proportion to its size; and that it would abound in the richest productions of the inter-tropical and temperate regions. Such, indeed, was the impression of those who first touched upon its southern shores, but who remained no longer than to be dazzled by the splendour and variety of its botanical productions, and to enjoy for a few days the delightful mildness of its climate. But the very spot which had appeared to Captain Cook and Sir Joseph Banks an earthly paradise, was abandoned by the early settlers as unfit for occupation; nor has the country generally been fount to realize the sanguine expectations of those distinguished individuals, so far as it has hitherto been explored.

Rivers which have the widest mouths or the most practicable entrances, are, in Europe or America, usually of impetuous current, or else contain such a body of water as to bear down all opposition to their free course; whilst on the other hand, rivers whose force is expended ere they reach the sea, have almost invariably a bar at their embouchure, or where they mingle their waters with those of the ocean. This last feature unfortunately appears to characterise all rivers of Australia, or such of them at least as are sufficiently known to us. Falling rapidly from the mountains in which they originate into a level and extremely depressed country; having weak and inconsiderable sources, and being almost wholly unaided by tributaries of any kind; they naturally fail before they reach the coast, and exhaust themselves in marshes or lakes; or reach it so weakened as to be unable to preserve clear or navigable months, or to remove the sand banks that the tides throw up before them. On the other hand the productions of this singular region seem to be peculiar to it, and unlike those of any other part of the world; nor have any indigenous fruits of any value as yet been found either in its forests or on its plains.

He who has never looked on any other than the well-cultured fields of England, can have little idea of a country that Nature has covered with an interminable forest. Still less can he estimate the feelings with which the adventurer approaches a shore that has never (or perhaps only lately) been trodden by civilized man.

It was with feelings peculiar to the occasion, that I gazed for the first time on the bold cliffs at the entrance of Port Jackson, as our vessel neared them, and speculated on the probable character of the landscape they hid; and I am free to confess, that I did not anticipate anything equal to the scene which presented itself both to my sight and my judgment, as we sailed up the noble and extensive basin we had entered, towards the seat of government. A single glance was sufficient to tell me that the hills upon the southern shore of the port, the outlines of which were broken by houses and spires, must once have been covered with the same dense and gloomy wood which abounded every where else. The contrast was indeed very great—the improvement singularly striking. The labour and patience required, and the difficulties which the first settlers encountered effecting these improvements, must have been incalculable. But their success has been complete: it is the very triumph of human skill and industry over Nature herself. The cornfield and the orchard have supplanted the wild grass and the brush; a flourishing town stands over the ruins of the forest; the lowing of herds has succeeded the wild whoop of the savage; and the stillness of that once desert shore is now broken by the sound of the bugle and the busy hum of commerce.

The Colony of New South Wales is situated upon the eastern coast of Australia; and the districts within which land has been granted to settlers, extends from the 36th parallel of latitude to the 32nd, that is say, from the Moroyo River to the south of Sydney on the one hand, and to the Manning River on the other, including Wellington Valley within its limits to the westward. Thus it will appear that the boundaries of the located parts of the colony have been considerably enlarged, and some fine districts of country included within them. In consequence of its extent and increasing population, it has been found convenient to divide it into counties, parishes, and townships; and indeed, every measure of the Colonial Government of late years, has had for its object to assimilate its internal arrangements as nearly as possible, to those of the mother country. Whether we are to attribute the present flourishing state of the colony to the beneficial influence of that system of government which has been exercised over it for the last seven years it is not for me to say. That the prosperity of a country depends, however, in a great measure, on the wisdom of its legislature, is as undoubted, as that within the period I have mentioned the colony of N. S. Wales has risen unprecedentedly in importance and in wealth, and has advanced to a state of improvement at which it could not have arrived had its energies been cramped or its interests neglected.

There is a period in the history of every country, during which it will appear to have been more prosperous than at any other. I allude

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