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
Upon Wylie's return I mounted him on one of the horses, and accompanying
him on foot, proceeded to where he had left the kangaroo; as it was only
one mile and a half away we brought it back upon the horse, entire, that
we might skin it more leisurely at the camp. It was a larger one than the
last, and promised an abundant supply of food for some days; added to
this we had five pounds of fish and a dozen crabs, so that our larder was
well and variously stocked. Upon skinning the kangaroo, Wylie carefully
singed, folded up, and put away the skin for another day, fully
determined that this time he would lose no part of the precious prize.
Having taken the paunch and emptied it, he proceeded to make a kind of
haggis (rather a dirty one to be sure), by putting into it the liver,
lights, heart, and small intestines, and then tying it up, thrust it into
the fire to be roasted whole. This seemed to be a favourite dish with
him, and he was now as happy as a king, sleeping and eating alternately
the whole night long; his only complaint now being that the water was so
far off, and that as we had to carry it all up from the sand-hills to our
camp, he could not drink so much as he should like, and in consequence,
could not eat so much either, for it required no small quantity of liquid
to wash down the enormous masses of meat that he consumed whenever he had
an opportunity.
May 24.--Leaving Wylie to continue his feast and attend to the horses, I
went down to the beach to hunt again for crabs, of which I procured about
three dozen, but still of the same small size as before; a few larger
ones were seen in the deeper clefts of the rocks, but I could not get at
them; indeed, as it was, I was very nearly terminating my crab hunting
and expedition at the same time. The places where these animals were
obtained, were the clefts and holes among large masses and sheets of rock
close to the sea, and which were covered by it at high water; many of
these were like platforms, shelving to the sea, and terminating abruptly
in deep water. Whilst busily engaged upon one of them, in trying to get
some crabs out from its clefts, I did not notice that the surf sometimes
washed over where I stood, until whilst stooping, and in the act of
fishing out a crab, a roller came further than usual and dashing over me,
threw me down and took both me and my crabs to some distance, nearly
carrying us down the steep into the sea, from which nothing could have
rescued me, as I should soon have been dashed to pieces by the breakers
against the rocks. Having gathered up the crabs I had collected, I set
off homewards in a sad cold uncomfortable plight, with the skin scraped
off my hands and one of my heels, and with my shoes in such a state from
scrambling about among the rocks and in the wet, as strongly to indicate
to me the propriety of never attempting to go crab hunting again with my
shoes on, unless I wished to be placed altogether "hors du combat" for
walking.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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