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, with the Sanction and Support of the Government: Including an Account of the Manners and Customs of the Aborigines and the State of Their Relations with Europeans — Volume 02Eyre, Edward John
History
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, with the Sanction and Support of the Government: Including an Account of the Manners and Customs of the Aborigines and the State of Their Relations with Europeans — Volume 02
Eyre, Edward John
Australia -- Discovery and exploration; Ethnology -- Australia
May 18.--THIS morning we had to travel upon a soft heavy beach, and moved
slowly and with difficulty along, and three of the horses were
continually attempting to lie down on the road. At twelve miles, we found
some nice green grass, and although we could not procure water here, I
determined to halt for the sake of the horses. The weather was cool and
pleasant. From our camp Mount Ragged bore N. 35 degrees W., and the
island we had seen for the last two days, E. 18 degrees S. Having seen
some large kangaroos near our camp, I sent Wylie with the rifle to try
and get one. At dark he returned bringing home a young one, large enough
for two good meals; upon this we feasted at night, and for once Wylie
admitted that his belly was full. He commenced by eating a pound and a
half of horse-flesh, and a little bread, he then ate the entrails,
paunch, liver, lights, tail, and two hind legs of the young kangaroo,
next followed a penguin, that he had found dead upon the beach, upon this
he forced down the whole of the hide of the kangaroo after singeing the
hair off, and wound up this meal by swallowing the tough skin of the
penguin; he then made a little fire, and laid down to sleep, and dream of
the pleasures of eating, nor do I think he was ever happier in his life
than at that moment.
May 19.--The morning set in very cold and showery, with the wind from the
southward, making us shiver terribly as we went along; luckily the
country behind the sea-shore was at this place tolerably open, and we
were for once enabled to leave the beach, and keep a little inland. The
soil was light and sandy, but tolerably fertile. In places we found low
brush, in others very handsome clumps of tea-tree scattered at intervals
over some grassy tracts of country, giving a pleasing and park-like
appearance we had long been strangers to. The grass was green, and
afforded a most grateful relief to the eye, accustomed heretofore to rest
only upon the naked sands or the gloomy scrubs we had so long been
travelling amongst. Anxious if possible to give our horses a day or two's
rest, at such a grassy place, and especially as the many kangaroos we
saw, gave us hope of obtaining food for ourselves also, I twice dug for
water, but did not find any of such quality as we could use. I was
compelled therefore to turn in among the sand-hills of Point Malcolm,
where I found excellent water at three and a half feet, and halted for
the day, after a stage of five miles. Unfortunately we were now beyond
all grass, and had to send the horses by a long and difficult road to it,
over steep sandy ridges, densely covered by scrub. Upon halting, one of
our horses lay down, appearing to be very ill, for two hours I could not
get him to rise, and was sadly afraid he would die, which would have been
a serious loss to us, for he was the strongest one we had left. A little
inside Point Malcolm, I found traces of Europeans who had slept on shore
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