Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery in North-West and Western Australia | Page 5

bottom of a red sandstone ravine resembling the old red
sandstone of England; and the remainder of the evening was spent in
clambering about the rocks and endeavouring to avoid such natural
obstacles as impeded our route. Our progress was slow, and just before
nightfall I turned up a branch ravine trending to the southward, when
we soon found ourselves at the foot of a lofty cascade down which a

little water was slowly dropping; and on climbing to its summit it
appeared to be so well adapted for a halting-place for the night that I
determined to remain here. The men made themselves comfortable near
the waterholes, and Mr. Smith and myself crept into a little cave which
occasionally served as a resting-place for the natives, the remains of
whose fires were scattered about. A wild woodland and rocky scenery
was around us; and when the moon rose and shed her pale light over all
I sat with Mr. Smith on the edge of the waterfall, gazing alternately into
the dim woody abyss below, and at the red fires and picturesque groups
of men, than which fancy could scarcely image a wilder scene.
NATIVE PATH AND WELL.
April 3.
Before the day had fully dawned we were under weigh. Our course for
the first mile or two was embarrassed by ravines and scrub similar to
that we had yesterday met with; our progress was therefore very slow,
but we at length emerged on elevated sandy downs, thickly clothed
with banksia trees, and across these we came upon a well-beaten native
path running to the south by east, which was exactly our line of route.
We had not followed this path for more than four miles when we found
a most romantically-situated native well, surrounded by shrubs and
graceful wattle trees, and of a depth and size such as we had never
before observed. Here then we seated ourselves, and upon such scanty
fare as we had made a sparing breakfast. This however but very
insufficiently supplied our wants; and as we sat at this little well, thus
surrounded with such fairy scenery, a variety of philosophic reflections
crossed our minds and found vent in words. Nothing could be more
delightfully romantic than our present position. Both as regarded
danger, scenery, savages, and unknown lands, we were in precisely the
situation in which Mr. Cooper and other novelists delight to depict their
travellers, with this one woeful difference--our wallets were empty. It
was in vain I fumbled about in mine; I could neither find the remains of
a venison pasty, a fat buffalo's hump, or any other delicacy: indeed I
had not the means of keeping life and soul together for many days
longer. Deeply did we regret that we were not favoured for a few days
with the company of Mr. Cooper, that he might in our present
difficulties fully initiate us into the mysterious, nay, almost miraculous
means by which his travellers, even in the most dreary wilds, always

contrived to draw forth from their stock of provender such dainties that
the bare recollection of them made our mouths water; but the
necessities of the moment would not permit me for more than a few
minutes to indulge in these speculations, and we turned therefore from
seductive travels of the imagination to the more stringent ones of
reality.
HEAVY LOADS CARRIED BY THE MEN.
I now entreated the men to disencumber themselves of a portion of the
loads which they were attempting to carry. Urged by a miscalculating
desire of gain, when the boats were abandoned they had laid hands
upon canvas and what else they thought would sell at Perth, and some
of them appeared to be resolved rather to risk their lives than the booty
they were bending under. The more tractable threw away the articles I
told them to get rid of; but neither entreaties nor menaces prevailed
with the others.
For the next three miles we still followed the native path which
continued to run south by east. The whole of this distance was over
open sandy downs, abounding in kangaroos; but we now suddenly
emerged into a rich limestone country of gently sloping hills and
valleys, affording, even at this season of the year, fair feed for sheep or
cattle, and we found springs of water at every few hundred yards,
generally situated at the edge of a large clump of trees.
After having for some time rested here I quitted the native path, which
trended too much to the eastward, and, leaving also the direction of the
limestone country which ran inland, we continued a south by east
course over a gravelly tableland in places covered with beds of clay on
which rested ponds of water. The country here was perfectly open, with
clumps