The Australian Explorers: Their Labours, Perils, and Achievements: Being a Narrative of Discovery from the Landing of Captain Cook to the Centennial YearGrimm, George
History
The Australian Explorers: Their Labours, Perils, and Achievements: Being a Narrative of Discovery from the Landing of Captain Cook to the Centennial Year
Grimm, George
Australia -- Discovery and exploration; Explorers -- Australia
let Colonel Warburton speak for himself. The following extracts are from
the entries in his journal as made during the crisis of his sufferings,
when hope was fast giving place to despair:--"We killed our last meat on
the 20th October; a large bull camel has, therefore, fed us for three
weeks. It must be remembered that we have had no flour, tea, or sugar,
neither have we an atom of salt, so we cannot salt our meat. We are
seven in all, and are living entirely upon sun-dried slips of meat which
are as tasteless and innutritious as a piece of dead bark.... We have
abandoned everything but our small supply of water and meat, and each
party has a gun.... We are hemmed in on every side: every trial we make
fails; and I can now only hope that some one or more of the party may
reach water sooner or later. As for myself, I can see no hope of life,
for I cannot hold up without food and water. I have given Lewis written
instructions to justify his leaving me, should I die, and have made such
arrangements as I can for the preservation of my journal and maps.... My
party, at least, are now in that state that, unless it please God to
save us, we cannot live more than 24 hours. We are at our last drop of
water, and the smallest bit of dried meat chokes me. I fear my son must
share my fate, as he refuses to leave me. God have mercy upon us, for we
are brought very low, and by the time death reaches us we shall not
regret exchanging our present misery for that state in which the weary
are at rest. We have tried to do our duty, and have been disappointed in
all our expectations. I have been in excellent health during the whole
journey, and am so still, being merely worn out from want of food and
water. Let no self-reproaches afflict any respecting me. I undertook
this journey for the benefit of my family, and I was quite equal to it
under all the circumstances that could be reasonably anticipated, but
difficulties and losses have come upon us so thickly for the last few
months that we have not been able to move. Thus, our provisions are
gone; but this would not have stopped us could we have found water
without such laborious search. The country is terrible. I do not
believe men ever traversed so vast an extent of continuous desert." They
were, indeed, brought to the last extreme of misery. But man's extremity
is God's opportunity. A search party found a good well about twelve
miles distant, which supplied all their necessities, and saved their
lives. Another fortnight brought the forlorn wanderers to a creek with a
good store of water at intervals. This proved to be a tributary of the
Oakover, to the banks of which they were thus led by such stages as
could be travelled in their deplorably emaciated condition. The
outskirts of civilization were all but reached. The pastoral station of
De Grey was believed to be only a few days' travelling down the river,
and a small detachment was sent to implore succour. The distance was
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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