Two Expeditions into the Interior of Southern Australia — CompleteSturt, Charles
History
Two Expeditions into the Interior of Southern Australia — Complete
Sturt, Charles
New South Wales -- Discovery and exploration; Sturt, Charles, 1795-1869
The breezes that had so much assisted as from the lake upwards, had now
lost their influence, or failed to reach to the distance we had gained.
Calms succeeded them, and obliged us to labour continually at the oars.
We lost ground fast, and it was astonishing to remark how soon the men's
spirits drooped again under their first efforts. They fancied the boat
pulled heavily, and that her bottom was foul; but such was not the case.
The current was not so strong as when we passed down, since the river had
evidently fallen more than a foot, and was so shallow in several places,
that we were obliged to haul the boat over them. On these occasions we
were necessarily obliged to get out of her into the water, and had
afterwards to sit still and to allow the sun to dry our clothes upon us.
The unemployed consequently envied those at the oars, as they sat
shivering in their dripping clothes. I was aware that it was more from
imagination than reality, that the men fancied the boat was unusually
heavy, but I hesitated not in humouring them, and rather entered into
their ideas than otherwise, and endeavoured to persuade them that she
pulled the lighter for the cleaning we gave her.
A tribe of natives joined us, and we had the additional trouble of
guarding our stores. They were, however, very quiet, and as we had broken
up our casks, on leaving the coast, we were enabled to be liberal in our
presents of iron hoop, which they eagerly received. We calculated that we
should reach the principal junction in about fifteen days from this place.
NATIVE BURIAL-PLACE.
The natives left us to pursue our solitary journey as soon as the boat was
reloaded. Not one of them had the curiosity to follow us, nor did they
appear to think it necessary that we should be attended by envoys. We
stopped for the night upon the left bank; and close to a burial-ground
that differed from any I had ever seen. It must have been used many years,
from the number of bones that were found in the bank, but there were no
other indications of such a place either by mounds or by marks on the
trees. The fact, therefore, is a singular one. I have thought that some
battle might have been fought near the place, but I can hardly think one
of their battles could have been so destructive.
IMPEDED BY SHOALS.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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