Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia, Volume 1: With Descriptions of the Recently Explored Region of Australia Felix, and of the Present Colony of New South WalesMitchell, T. L. (Thomas Livingstone)
History
Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia, Volume 1: With Descriptions of the Recently Explored Region of Australia Felix, and of the Present Colony of New South Wales
Mitchell, T. L. (Thomas Livingstone)
Australia -- Discovery and exploration; Mitchell, T. L. (Thomas Livingstone), 1792-1855
The huntsman's pleasure is no more, indeed, when such an animal dies thus
before him, persecuted alike by the civilised and the savage. In this
instance a young one, warm from the pouch of its mother, frisked about at
a distance, as if unwilling to leave her, although it finally escaped.
The nights were cold, and I confess that thoughts of the young kangaroo
did obtrude at dinner, and were mingled with my kangaroo-steak.
As we turned to our right in the afternoon in search of the Bogan, we
encountered some casuarina scrub, to avoid which we had to wind a little,
so that we only made the river at dusk, and at a part of the bed which
was dry. Water, as we afterwards found, was near enough upwards, but the
two parties sent in the evening having by mistake both sought for it in
the other direction, we had none till early in the morning.
FIVE NATIVES BROUGHT TO ME WITH A SILK HANDKERCHIEF IN THEIR POSSESSION.
May 2.
Five natives were brought to me by Whiting and Tom Jones, on suspicion;
one of them having a silk pocket-handkerchief which they thought might
have belonged to Mr. Cunningham.
The native wore it fastened over his shoulders, and seemed so careless
about our scrutiny that I could not think he had obtained the
handkerchief by any violence; and still less from Mr. Cunningham, as it
was engrained with a smoky tinge, apparently derived from having been
long in his possession. No mark was upon it, and the only information we
could obtain as to where they got it, was the answer "old fellow," and
pointing to the north-east. As these men had been at some out-station of
ours and could speak a little English, and as they had a young kangaroo
dog called by them olony (Maloney) I did not think at the time that the
handkerchief had belonged to Mr. Cunningham; and the men appointed to
attend him declared they had never seen that handkerchief in his hands.
THEIR NAMES.
These five natives were overtaken suddenly at a waterhole two miles lower
down the Bogan. The name of him with the handkerchief was Werrajouit,
those of the other four Yarree Buckenba and Tackijally Buckenba
(brothers) Youimooba, and Werrayoy (youths). The most intelligent was
Tackijally, and even he understood but little, not enough to comprehend
anything I said about the white man lost in the bush.
To secure their goodwill and best services however I immediately gave
them three tomahawks; and when Yarree Buckenba took a new handkerchief
from my pocket I presented him with it. They accompanied us when we moved
forward to encamp nearer water.
THE PARTY HALT AT CUDDULDURY.
We passed a small pond, the name of which was Burdenda, and afterwards
came to Cudduldury where we encamped with the intention of making what
further search we could for Mr. Cunningham.
INTERVIEW WITH THE KING OF THE BOGAN.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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