Journals Of Two Expeditions Of Discovery In North West And Western Australia Volume 1 (Of 2), George Grey [robert munsch read aloud txt] 📗

Volume 1 Chapter 12 (From The Gascoyne To Gantheaume Bay Sail From The Gascoyne) Pg 240

And A Strong Breeze Blowing From The Southward; At This Time However

There Was Nothing Which In My Opinion Rendered It Too Hazardous To Risk

The Passage,  More Especially Being Pressed As We Were By The Want Of

Food. The Distance Across To Bernier Island From The Point Of The Main

Where We Were Was About Ten Miles Further Than It Is From Dover To

Calais. Our Boats Were In Very Bad Repair,  And The Landing On The Other

Side Was By No Means Good. I Therefore Certainly Would Not Have Ventured

To Make The Passage In A Gale Of Wind; But The Weather Did Not Seem

Threatening And It Had Been For Many Successive Days Blowing As Hard As

It Was When We Started.

 

Caught In A Gale Of Wind.

 

We Might Have Gone Nine Or Ten Miles When The Wind Suddenly Increased,

And Ere We Had Made Five More It Had Become A Perfect Gale And We Were

Obliged To Keep The Boats Close Hauled,  For Had We Run Ever So Little

Before The Wind We Should Not Have Fetched Bernier Island,  And

Consequently Should Have Been Blown Right Out To Sea. We Had Nothing

Therefore Now To Do But To Struggle For It,  And To Use Every Energy To

Save Ourselves. Sea After Sea Broke Into The Boat But The Water Was As

Rapidly Baled Out: None Could Have Behaved Better Than The Crews Of Both

Boats Did,  And The Whole Scene Was One Of Such Constant,  Cheerful,  And

Successful Exertion That,  Great As Our Danger Was,  I Do Not Recollect

Ever Having A Keener Perception Of The Pleasure Of Excited Feelings,  Or A

More Thorough Revelry Of Joyous Emotions,  Than I Had During This Perilous

Passage.

 

Reach Bernier Island.

 

Bernier Island At Last Rose In Sight And Amidst The Giant Waves We

Occasionally Caught A Peep Of Its Rocky Shores; But We Were So Tossed To

And Fro That It Was Only Now And Then That From The Summit Of Some

Lofty Sea We Could Sight A High Shore Which Was Not More Than Four Or

Five Miles From Us. We Had Made The Island About Five Miles From Its

Northern Extremity,  And I Ran Along The Shore Until I Found A Convenient

Landing-Place About A Mile And A Half To The South Of Our Old One.

 

Change In The Land.

 

It Was Perfectly Sheltered By Reefs And An Island,  But It Surprised Me

That I Had Not Remarked This Cove On My Previous Visit To The Island,  And

I Was Still Further Astonished To See Now Three New Small Rocky Islands,

Of Which I Had No Recollection Whatever. Indeed The Men All For A Long

Time Stoutly Denied That This Was Bernier Island And,  Had We Not Now

Sighted Kok's Island,  I Should Have Doubted My Skill In Navigation And

Made Up My Mind That I Had Fallen Into Some Strange Error; But As It Was

Forebodings Shot Across My Wind As To What Pranks The Hurricane Might

Have Been Playing Upon The Island,  Which Consisted Of Nothing But Loose

Sand Heaped Upon A Bed Of Limestone Rock Of Very Unequal Elevation.

 

I Ran In My Own Boat Upon A Convenient Point Of The Beach And The Other

Volume 1 Chapter 12 (From The Gascoyne To Gantheaume Bay Sail From The Gascoyne) Pg 241

Boat Followed In Safety,  For I Did Not Like,  In Such Foul Weather,  To

Leave Them At Anchor On A Lee Shore,  Which Had Previously Proved So

Unsafe A Position. A Most Awkward Question Now Presented Itself To My

Consideration: From The Altered Appearance Of The Coast I Felt Very

Considerable Doubts As To The State In Which The Depot Might Be Found;

Supposing Anything Had Occurred To It I Felt That It Would Be Unadvisable

That Such A Discovery Should Be Made In The Presence Of Many Persons; As

Future Discipline Would In A Great Measure Depend Upon The First

Impression That Was Given. Who,  Then,  Had I Better Select For The Purpose

Of Visiting The Depot In The First Instance? After Some Deliberation I

Made Choice Of Mr. Smith And Corporal Coles,  In The Courage,

Disinterestedness,  And Self-Possession Of Both Of Whom I Placed Great

Confidence. I Directed Mr. Walker To See Certain Little Alterations Made

In The Boats Before The Men Were Allowed To Straggle; These I Knew Would

Occupy Them For Some Time And Leave Me Therefore During This Interval

Free To Think And Act According To Circumstances. I Now Called Mr. Smith

And Corporal Coles To Accompany Me,  And Told Coles To Bring A Spade With

Him.

 

Destruction Of The Depot Of Provisions. Symptoms Of Calamity.

 

Before We Had Gone Very Far Alarming Symptoms Met My Eyes In The Form Of

Staves Of Flour Casks Scattered About Amongst The Rocks,  And Even High Up

On The Sandhills. Coles However Persisted That These Wore So Far Inland

That They Could Only Have Come From The Flour Casks Which We Had Emptied

Before Starting. I Knew They Were Far Too Numerous For Such To Be The

Case,  But I Suppressed My Opinion And Made No Remarks. We Next Came To A

Cask Of Salt Provisions,  Washed High And Dry At Least Twenty Feet Above

The Usual High-Water Mark: The Sea Had Evidently Not Been Near This For A

Long Period As It Was Half Covered With Drift Sand Which Must Have Taken

Some Time To Accumulate. This Coles Easily Accounted For,  It Was Merely

The Cask Which Had Been Lost From The Wreck Of The Paul Pry. I Still

Thought Otherwise But Said Nothing.

 

At Length We Reached The Spot Where The Depot Had Been Made: So Changed

Was It That Both Mr. Smith And Coles Persisted It Was Not The Place; But

On Going To The Shore There Were Some Very Remarkable Rocks,  On The Top

Of Which Lay A Flour Cask More Than Half Empty,  With The Head Knocked

Out,  But Not Otherwise Injured; This Also Was Washed Up At Least Twenty

Feet Of Perpendicular Elevation Beyond High Water Mark. The Dreadful

Certainty Now Flashed Upon The Minds Of Mr. Smith And Coles,  And I Waited

To See What Effect It Would Have Upon Them. Coles Did Not Bear The

Surprise So Well As I Had Expected; He Dashed The Spade Upon The Ground

With Almost Ferocious Violence,  And Looking Up To Me He Said,  "All Lost,

Sir! We Are All Lost,  Sir!" Mr. Smith Stood Utterly Calm And Unmoved; I

Had Not Calculated Wrongly Upon His Courage And Firmness. His Answer To

Coles Was,  "Nonsense,  Coles,  We Shall Do Very Well Yet; Why,  There Is A

Cask Of Salt Provisions And Half A Cask Of Flour Still Left."

 

Volume 1 Chapter 12 (From The Gascoyne To Gantheaume Bay Sail From The Gascoyne) Pg 242

I Now Rallied Coles Upon His Conduct; Compared It With That Of Mr. Smith,

And Told Him That When I Had Taken Him On To The Depot In Preference To

The Other Men It Had Been In The Expectation That,  If Any Disaster Had

Happened,  He Would,  By His Coolness And Courage,  Have Given Such An

Example As Would Have Exercised A Salutary Influence Upon The Others.

This Had The Desired Effect Upon Him; He Became Perfectly Cool And

Collected And Promised To Make Light Of The Misfortune To The Rest,  And

To Observe The Strictest Discipline. I Then Requested Mr. Smith To See

The Little Flour That Was Left In The Barrel And On The Rocks Carefully

Collected By Coles,  And,  Leaving Them Thus Engaged,  I Turned Back Along

The Sea Shore Towards The Party; Glad Of The Opportunity Of Being Alone

As I Could Now Commune Freely With My Own Thoughts.

 

Alarming Position And Prospects. Repair Damages,  And Return To The Main.

 

The Safety Of The Whole Party Now Depended Upon My Forming A Prompt And

Efficient Plan Of Operations,  And Seeing It Carried Out With Energy And

Perseverance. As Soon As I Was Out Of Sight Of Mr. Smith And Coles I Sat

Down Upon A Rock On The Shore To Reflect Upon Our Present Position. The

View Seawards Was Discouraging; The Gale Blew Fiercely In My Face And The

Spray Of The Breakers Was Dashed Over Me; Nothing Could Be More Gloomy

And Drear. I Turned Inland And Could See Only A Bed Of Rock,  Covered With

Drifting Sand,  On Which Grew A Stunted Vegetation,  And Former Experience

Had Taught Me That We Could Not Hope To Find Water In This Island; Our

Position Here Was Therefore Untenable,  And But Three Plans Presented

Themselves To Me: First,  To Leave A Notice Of My Intentions On The

Island,  Then To Make For Some Known Point On The Main And There Endeavour

To Subsist Ourselves Until We Should Be Found And Taken Off By The

Colonial Schooner; Secondly,  To Start For Timor Or Port Essington;

Thirdly,  To Try To Make Swan River In The Boats.

 

Consolations Of Religion.

 

I Determined Not To Decide Hastily Between These Plans And,  In Order More

Fully To Compose My Mind,  I Sat Down And Read A Few Chapters In The

Bible.

 

By The Influence These Imparted I Became Perfectly Contented And Resigned

To Our Apparently Wretched Condition And,  Again Rising Up,  Pursued My Way

Along The Beach To The Party. It May Be Here Remarked By Some That These

Statements Of My Attending To Religious Duties Are Irrelevant To The

Subject,  But In Such An Opinion I Cannot At All Coincide. In Detailing

The Sufferings We Underwent It Is Necessary To Relate The Means By Which

Those Sufferings Were Alleviated; And After Having,  In The Midst Of

Perils And Misfortunes,  Received The Greatest Consolation From Religion,

I Should Be Ungrateful To My Maker Not To Acknowledge This,  And Should

Ill Perform My Duty To My Fellow Men Did I Not Bear Testimony To The Fact

That,  Under All The Weightier Sorrows And Sufferings That Our Frail

Volume 1 Chapter 12 (From The Gascoyne To Gantheaume Bay Sail From The Gascoyne) Pg 243

Nature Is Liable To,  A Perfect Reliance Upon The Goodness Of God And