Spinifex and Sand

Spinifex and Sand

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Title: Spinifex and Sand Five Years' Pioneering and Exploration in Western Australia
Author: David W Carnegie
Release Date: January, 2004 [EBook #4975] [Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on April 8, 2002]
Edition: 10
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SPINIFEX AND SAND ***

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Production Notes: --Words in italics have been capitalised. --45 illustrations appeared in the original text, published in 1898. They have not been reproduced in this etext. (See below for list) --A HTML version of this etext is available from Project Gutenberg which includes many of the illustrations

SPINIFEX AND SAND by DAVID W CARNEGIE (1871-1900)
A NARRATIVE OF FIVE YEARS' PIONEERING AND EXPLORATION IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA

TO MY MOTHER

INTRODUCTION
"An honest tale speeds best, being plainly told."
The following pages profess to be no more than a faithful narrative of five years spent on the goldfields and in the far interior of Western Australia. Any one looking for stirring adventures, hairbreadth escapes from wild animals and men, will be disappointed. In the Australian Bush the traveller has only Nature to war against--over him hangs always the chance of death from thirst, and sometimes from the attacks of hostile aboriginals; he has no spice of adventure, no record heads of rare game, no exciting escapades with dangerous beasts, to spur him on; no beautiful scenery, broad lakes, or winding rivers to make life pleasant for him. The unbroken monotony of an arid, uninteresting country has to be faced. Nature everywhere demands his toil. Unless he has within him impulses that give him courage to go on, he will soon return; for he will find nothing in his surroundings to act as an incentive to tempt him further.
I trust my readers will be able to glean a little knowledge of the hardships and dangers that beset the paths of Australian pioneers, and will learn something of the trials and difficulties encountered by a prospector, recognising that he is often inspired by some higher feeling than the mere "lust of gold."
Wherever possible, I have endeavoured to add interest to my own experiences by recounting those of other travellers; and, by studying the few books that touch upon such matters to explain any points in connection with the aboriginals that from my own knowledge I am unable to do. I owe several interesting details to the "Report on the Work of the Horn Scientific Expedition to Central Australia," and to "Ethnological Studies among the North-West Central Queensland Aboriginals," by Walter E. Roth. For the identification of the few geological specimens brought in by me, I am indebted to the Government Geologist of the Mines Department, Perth, W.A., and to Mr. W. Botting Hemsley, through the courtesy of the Director of the Royal Gardens, Kew, for the identification of the plants.
I also owe many thanks to my friend Mr. J. F. Cornish, who has taken so much trouble in correcting the proofs of my MSS.

CONTENTS

PART I
EARLY DAYS IN COOLGARDIE

CHAPTER I
EARLY DAYS IN THE COLONY
CHAPTER II
"HARD UP"
CHAPTER III
A MINER ON BAYLEY'S

PART II
FIRST PROSPECTING EXPEDITION

CHAPTER I
THE RUSH TO KURNALPI--WE REACH QUEEN VICTORIA SPRING
CHAPTER II
IN UNKNOWN COUNTRY
CHAPTER III
FROM MOUNT SHENTON TO MOUNT MARGARET

PART III
SECOND PROSPECTING EXPEDITION

CHAPTER I
THE JOYS OF PORTABLE CONDENSERS
CHAPTER II
GRANITE ROCKS, "NAMMA HOLES," AND "SOAKS"
CHAPTER III
A FRESH START
CHAPTER IV
A CAMEL FIGHT
CHAPTER V
GOLD AT LAKE DARLOT CHATTER VI ALONE IN THE BUSH
CHAPTER VII
SALE OF MINE

PART IV
MINING

CHAPTER I
QUARTZ REEFING AND DRY-BLOWING

PART V
THE OUTWARD JOURNEY

CHAPTER I
PREVIOUS EXPLORERS IN THE INTERIOR OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
CHAPTER II
MEMBERS AND EQUIPMENT OF EXPEDITION
CHAPTER III
THE JOURNEY BEGINS
CHAPTER IV
WE ENTER THE DESERT
CHAPTER V
WATER AT LAST
CHAPTER VI
WOODHOUSE LAGOON
CHAPTER VII
THE GREAT UNDULATING DESERT OF GRAVEL
CHAPTER VIII
A DESERT TRIBE
CHAPTER IX
DR. LEICHARDT'S LOST EXPEDITION
CHAPTER X
THE DESERT OF PARALLEL SAND-RIDGES
CHAPTER XI
FROM FAMILY WELL TO HELENA SPRING
CHAPTER XII
HELENA SPRING
CHAPTER XIII
FROM HELENA SPRING TO THE SOUTHESK TABLELANDS.
CHAPTER XIV
DEATH OF STANSMORE
CHAPTER XV
WELLS EXPLORING EXPEDITION
CHAPTER XVI
KIMBERLEY
CHAPTER XVII
ABORIGINALS AT HALL'S CREEK
CHAPTER XVIII
PREPARATIONS FOR THE RETURN JOURNEY APPENDIX TO
PART V SOME