travel round the valley; but before we could gain the head of it we had
to cross two streams which ran into it on the eastern side. These however
gave us but little trouble.

NATIVE HUT.

On the tongue of land between them we found a native hut which differed
from any before seen, in having a sloping roof. After passing this hut we
began to wind up a rocky ascent, and just at sunset reached the
watershed, which threw off streams to the north and south: the valley
which lay immediately to the south of us appearing as fertile as that
which we had been travelling through for the whole day.

March 28.

The first part of our journey was through a fertile valley, about four
miles in length, through which wound a rapid stream. It was clothed with
the richest grass, abounded in kangaroos, and was marked at its southern
extremity by a very remarkable precipitous hill. The heights to the
westward were all composed of basalt, whilst those to the eastward were
sandstone. On passing the ridge of hills which bounded this valley to the
south we entered on a sandstone district, although the hills to the
westward were still basaltic.

NATURAL GRAPERY. GRAPE-LIKE FRUIT.

I here halted the party for breakfast by the side of a stream and, on
casting my eyes upwards, I found that I was in a sort of natural grapery,
for the tree under which I lay was covered with a plant which bears a
sort of grape and I believe is a species of cissus.

We met altogether with three varieties of this plant, all of which were
creepers but differing from each other in their habits and in the size of
their fruit. Two of them generally ran along the ground or amongst low
shrubs and the third climbed high trees; this latter kind bore the finest
fruit, and it was a plant of this description which I today found. Its
fruit in size, appearance, and flavour resembled a small black grape, but
the stones were different, being larger, and shaped like a coffee berry.
All three produced their fruit in bunches, like the vine, and, the day
being very sultry, I do not know that we could have fallen upon anything
more acceptable than this fruit was to us.

FORD THE GLENELG. ANOTHER RIVER.

After breakfast we continued our route through a barren, sandy district,
heavily timbered; and in the course of the afternoon met either the
Glenelg or a very considerable branch of that stream in south latitude 15
degrees 56 minutes, east longitude 125 degrees 8 minutes: it was 250
yards across and formed a series of rapids at this point, where it
emerged from a rocky gorge. Just above the rapids we found a good ford,
the average depth of which was not more than three feet. After crossing,
the banks on the other side were clothed with a species of Casuarina
which I did not observe elsewhere. The country on that side of the stream
was sandy and, as I found by the time we had proceeded two or three miles
that we were getting embarrassed in a sandstone range, I halted the party
for the night and went on to try if I could find a pass across it. My
exertions were not however very successful: I came upon a path which I
thought might be rendered practicable for the ponies over the first part
of the range, but found no line by which we could proceed without making
a road.

WEAKNESS OF THE MEN.

March 29.

At dawn this morning the men were at work forming the road; the poor
fellows were however so much enfeebled from constant fatigue and very
inefficient nutriment, whilst exposed to the great heat of a tropical
climate, that they were unable to exert the same energy as formerly, and
I could not but be struck with the great difference in their strength as
evinced in their incapacity to move stones and other obstacles, which a
few weeks ago they would have had little difficulty in lifting. The path
was however soon made as passable as our abilities permitted, and we
started along it with the ponies; some of them were however no less
reduced than the men and, in endeavouring to lead one of them up a rocky
hill, it fell, and from weakness sank under its light load without making
an effort to save itself; the spine was thus so severely injured as to
render it unable to move the hinder extremities; we therefore killed the
poor creature and moved on.

SANDSTONE CAVE.

Throughout the day we continued gradually the ascent of the range which
we had yesterday commenced. The large valley we were in led us by a
gentle slope winding higher and higher amongst the rocky hills; at first
it had been so wide as to appear like a plain, but by degrees it
contracted its dimensions, until, towards the afternoon, it suddenly
assumed almost the character of a gorge. Just at this point we saw in the
cliffs on our left hand a cave, which I entered in the hope of finding
native paintings.

Nor was I disappointed for it contained several of a very curious
character. This cave was a natural chasm in the sandstone rocks, elevated
at its entrance several feet above the level of the ground, from which
the ascent to it was by a natural flight of sandstone steps, irregular,
of course, but formed of successive thin strata, resting one upon
another, and thus constituting an easy ascent; these successive layers
continued into the body of the cave, quite to the end, where was a
central slab, more elevated than the others, and on each side of this two
other larger ones which reached the top of the cave and partly served to
support the immense sandstone slab that formed the roof.

ANOTHER PAINTED CAVE.

The cave was twenty feet deep and at the entrance seven feet high and
about forty feet wide. As before stated the floor gradually approached
the roof in the direction of the bottom of the cavern, and its width also
contracted, so that at the extremity it was not broader than the slab of
rock, which formed a natural seat.

FIGURE DRAWN ON THE ROOF.

The principal painting in it was the figure of a man, ten feet six inches
in length, clothed from the chin downwards in a red garment which reached
to the wrists and ankles; beyond this red dress the feet and hands
protruded and were badly executed.

The face and head of the figure were enveloped in a succession of
circular bandages or rollers, or what appeared to be painted to represent
such. These were coloured red, yellow, and white; and the eyes were the
only features represented on the face. Upon the highest bandage or roller
a series of lines were painted in red, but, although so regularly done as
to indicate that they have some meaning, it was impossible to tell
whether they were intended to depict written characters or some ornament
for the head. This figure was so drawn on the roof that its feet were
just in front of the natural seat, whilst its head and face looked
directly down on anyone who stood in the entrance of the cave, but it was
totally invisible from the outside. The painting was more injured by the
damp and atmosphere, and had the appearance of being much more
defaced and ancient, than any of the others which we had seen.*

(*Footnote. This figure brings to mind the description of the Prophet
Ezekiel: Men portrayed upon the wall, the images of the Chaldeans
portrayed in vermilion, girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding
in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look to, after
the manner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the land of their nativity.
Chapter 23:14, 15.)

OTHER PAINTINGS.

There were two other paintings, one on each of the rocks which stood on
either side of the natural seat; they were carefully executed and yet had
no apparent design in them; unless they were intended to represent some
fabulous species of turtle; for the natives of Australia are generally
fond of narrating tales of fabulous and extraordinary animals such as
gigantic snakes, etc.

One of the party who appeared much amused at these different paintings
walked straight up the cavern, gradually ascending the steps until he
reached the slab at the end, and then, taking his hat off with a solemn
air, seated himself; to his own, and our surprise, his bare head just
touched the roof of the cave, and on examining this part of it we found
it fairly polished, and very greasy, from all appearance caused by the
constant rubbing against it of the head of a person whilst seated on the
rock. This and other circumstances led us to conjecture that the cave was
frequented by some wise man or native doctor who was resorted to by the
inhabitants in cases of disease or witchcraft. We saw many footmarks
about, and found other signs of the close presence of the natives, but
they themselves remained invisible.

BEAUTIFUL SCENERY.

The cave was situated in an exceedingly picturesque position, it occupied
the corner leading from a wide valley to a narrow ravine, down which came
bubbling along a clear deep stream, which passed within a few yards of
the cave's mouth. After making sketches of the paintings and for a few
minutes admiring this romantic spot we moved up the ravine, which
appeared to lead by a gradual ascent to the summit of the mountain range
that now completely hemmed us in both to the southward and eastward.

This ravine, in the luxuriance of its vegetation and the great size of
the trees, as well as in its rapid stream, at times leaping in cascades
or foaming in rapids, resembled those we had before seen in the sandstone
ranges, but it differed from them in the greater height of the
surrounding hills and cliffs which, being overshadowed with hanging trees
and climbing plants, presented as rich a painting as the eye could
behold: and, as these grew golden with the rays of the setting sun or
were thrown into deep and massive shadows, I could not but regret that no
Claude of the tropics had arisen to transfer to canvas scenes which words
cannot express.

But however beautiful the scenery was the road we had to travel was so
extremely inconvenient that the view scarcely made amends for it; we were
continually compelled from old land-slips to cross from one side of the
stream to the other, and this, from the depth of the ford and the
slipperiness of the rocky bottom, was sometimes no easy task; moreover
the ravine continued rapidly to contract in width and to become more
rugged and precipitous; I therefore turned off to the right into a rocky
amphitheatre which seemed well suited for encamping, and halted the party
for the night; then, taking one of my men with me, I ascended the cliffs
to see if I could make out any line by which to get clear of the
precipices which embarrassed us, but on all sides I could descry nothing
but lofty hills and frowning crags, except in the direction of the ravine
which appeared to run directly into the heart of the mountain chain; I
therefore turned about to rejoin the party, with the intention of
continuing the same course the ensuing morning as we had done this
evening.

NARROW ESCAPE.

Both myself and the man who was with me had however a narrow escape of
being shot, for, as we were returning he let his rifle fall and it
exploded, the ball striking the rocks close to us before it glanced into
the air.

OTHER CAVES.

March 30.

At the earliest dawn we continued our course up the valley, which rapidly
became narrower and more inclined so that it formed, as it were, a series
of elevated terraces, at the edge of each of which was a little cascade.
We found two caves in the cliffs on the right hand, both of which were
painted all over but with no regularity of pattern: the only colours used
were red, yellow, and white. The largest of the caves exceeded in breadth
and depth any others I had seen, but it was only three feet high; in this
one there were several drawings of fish, one of which was four feet in
length; these I copied, although they were badly executed. The caves
themselves cannot be considered as at all analogous to those I have
before described.

INCREASING DIFFICULTIES OF ROUTE. IMPASSABLE SANDSTONE RANGES.

The difficulties of the road continued to increase rapidly, and the
dimensions of the ravine became so contracted that I hesitated whether I
should not turn up another which branched off to the right; previously
however to taking this step I sent a man forward to examine the one we
were in; he soon returned and reported that it terminated in a high
cascade a few hundred yards further on. This intelligence confirming my
previous opinion, I now moved up the ravine which came from the westward,
but we had not proceeded for more than half a mile when the rugged nature
of the country brought us to a complete stand; we found ourselves in a
rocky area, bounded on all sides by cliffs, the only outlet from which
was the path by which we had entered. I therefore halted the party for
breakfast whilst I prepared to ascend some lofty pinnacles which lay to
the south of us.

The state of my wound rendered this exertion one of great pain and
difficulty; I however accomplished it, and found myself on the top of a
high rocky eminence which bore the appearance of having fallen into
ruins; the prospect from it was cheerless in the extreme; to the north
lay the rich valley country far below us, and to the south and east
nothing could be seen but barren sandstone rocks and ranges rising one
above the other until they met the horizon at no great distance from the
eye; the only outlet, except the ravine by which we had approached,
appeared to be by the westward, and I descended to the party in this
direction to see if I could find a route from where they were to the
terrace leading to that point. I struck on a place up the cliffs where I
imagined it possible to construct a road by which the ponies could
ascend, and then returned to breakfast.

COUNTRY INACCESSIBLE FOR HORSES.

As soon as our scanty meal had been concluded all hands were employed in
making this road; and sincerely did I pity the feeble men, whom I saw in
the burning heat of a tropical sun, which was reflected with redoubled
intensity from the bare sandstone rocks, toiling to displace large stones
and obstacles which they had hardly sufficient strength to move; not a
murmur however escaped them; they saw the necessity of the case and
exerted their failing energies as readily as they had done when these
were in full strength and vigour. The road was at last made and we moved
on to the westward, toiling for the remainder of the day amongst steep
precipices of barren sandstone rocks and hills, utterly inaccessible to
horses, till, finding our efforts to proceed useless, I at last turned
the party about and halted them for the night just above where we had
breakfasted; intending with the earliest dawn to renew my search for a
pass by which we might cross this mountain range.


CHAPTER 10. RETURN TO HANOVER BAY.

UNSUCCESSFUL SEARCH FOR A PASS.

March 31.

This day at dawn I sent out a party under Mr. Lushington and Mr. Walker
to try if any pass through the mountains could be found, but they
returned in four or five hours to report that it was utterly impossible
for horses to proceed further in the direction we desired. During their
absence I had made a careful examination of the stores and found that,
even at our reduced allowance, we had only provisions left for twenty
days; our horses were also reduced in number to twelve, but these,
excepting that their feet were sore, were rather improved in condition
than otherwise since the commencement of the journey.

CAUSES FOR RETURNING.

My intention had always been, when I found myself reduced to such an
extremity as the present, to proceed for a few days by forced marches
towards the interior, accompanied by four men, and then, returning to the
remainder of the party, to have taken all together back to the vessel;
when there I knew I could have got four volunteers to accompany me and,
having loaded the horses with ammunition and provisions, I had it in
contemplation to have started with them again for Swan River. But these
projects became now impracticable from the declining state of my health,
consequent on having started too soon after having received my wound, to
the exertions I was obliged daily to make whilst labouring under its
effects, and to the want of those comforts which contribute so materially
to restore an invalid to health. Our allowance of food too had been but
scanty, and, whilst I fared as my men, who, unshattered in health, had
yet grown thin and weak under privation, I, in proportion, had suffered
far more.

PREPARATIONS TO RETURN.

Mr. Walker, who was aware of my design, came to me today and said he felt
it his duty to recommend me without delay to return to the vessel; that
as long as he thought the risk I ran was no more than he considered a man
who had undertaken such a service should be prepared to incur, he had
refrained from pressing this advice upon me, but in my present
debilitated state exposure even for a single night might very probably
cost me my life. To this opinion I felt constrained to yield, and Mr.
Walker, having at my desire repeated it in a letter this afternoon, I
arranged my plans accordingly.

LIGHT EXPLORING PARTY SENT FORWARD UNDER LIEUTENANT LUSHINGTON.

The march in advance, which, had my health permitted, I had intended to
make myself, was now deputed to Mr. Lushington: four of those men who
remained the strongest of our enfeebled band were selected for an
excursion of three days under him; after which we were to return to the
vessel.

April 1 and 2.

At dawn on Sunday the 1st the party started; and these two days I
occupied myself in making magnetic and astronomical observations. Our
latitude I found by two meridian altitudes of the moon to be 16 degrees 0
minutes 45 seconds south, and our longitude by chronometer 125 degrees 11
minutes east.

REPORT OF ADVANCED PARTY.

April 3.

Mr. Lushington's party came in at 12 o'clock this day, reporting as
follows: That they proceeded about eighteen miles from the camp upon a
course of 195 degrees from the north, and the remaining half upon a
course of 155 1/2 degrees; that the whole of their route lay over a
country utterly impassable for horses owing to the steepness of the
hills; that they crossed a great number of under-features at right angles
to their route, between which lay small streams flowing away to the
westward, and which under-features were so steep in their descent to the
southward that, in going down, the men repeatedly fell: both grass and
water were however everywhere abundant; and they saw, in the spots where
the grass was most luxuriant, the root which I found on the hill at our
first encampment on the good land. The last point they attained was a
lofty hill which ran out from a range to the eastward, from which range
sprang also all the under-features that they had crossed. From this hill
they had an extensive view to the northward, eastward, and westward. The
land they saw to the northward is laid down upon my map.

THEIR DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY.

To the eastward they saw nothing but ranges of hills, precisely
resembling those that we had crossed since entering this mountainous
district; and to the westward others of the same nature, but gradually
falling in that direction, whilst on the other hand the land seemed to
rise gently to the eastward, though they saw no very high hills in an
easterly direction. To the southward their view was impeded by a very
high bluff point, distant six or seven miles, and a line of cliffs under
which they conceived that a river or an opening of the sea may run, but
if so, it could not be a stream of great magnitude. Their view of the
base of the cliff was however impeded by the under-features of the hill
on which they stood. They also noticed, as a very remarkable
circumstance, that there were no signs of these mountains having been
visited by the natives. The first part of their route lay over an
extensive plain, four miles in width, which bore no appearance of the
great native conflagrations having ever reached it. This was so generally
the case that, when they halted, they were unable to obtain a sufficiency
of firewood. They saw a native dog of the regular Australian breed;
kangaroos were abundant, but these as well as all other game were much
less wild than any of the party had before observed.

The foregoing summary of the information brought back rests not on the
report of any one individual but expresses the opinions of the party with
regard to those points on which they were all agreed; and the only one as
to which I have any distrust is that of the distance they went, which I
believe to be overrated; having always found the estimates of every one
of the party as to the daily distance travelled very erroneous, and
sometimes more than doubled. This indeed is a mistake well known to be of
common occurrence, and very difficult to guard against in a new and wild
country, and when I consider the diminished strength of the men's
pedestrian powers, and the weights they had to carry, I am disposed to
calculate that the total direct distance they made did not exceed, if it
equalled, twelve miles.

WANT OF FIREWOOD.

Their report of want of firewood is singular as, in all other parts which
we passed over, even upon plains of a similar character though not so
highly elevated or so difficult of access, we had always found the ground
thickly covered with trees which had fallen from the effects of the
native fires.

The only remarkable circumstances about the spot we were encamped in were
the great coldness of the nights and mornings; and moreover that exactly
at nine o'clock every morning a cold breeze, in character precisely
resembling a sea-breeze, set in from the south-east and lasted until
about half-past three in the afternoon.

RETURN. COMMENCEMENT OF MARCH BACK.

April 4.

We this day started on our march homewards. I was afraid, from the
appearance of the weather, that we might soon have rain, and, as a
continuance of it for even three or four days might have prevented our
passing the rivers for several weeks, it became necessary that this part
of our march should be accomplished with the utmost celerity. I therefore
made the first river before I allowed a halt for breakfast. On our route
we passed the spot where, on the 29th ultimo, we had been compelled to
kill the horse; the native dogs had already made it a perfect skeleton
and scattered its bones about.

NATIVE AND HIS DOG.

I committed unintentionally this day what must have appeared to the
natives a very wanton act of aggression: as we were passing the river, a
dog, not of the Australian breed, came from a pass in the rocks on the
opposite side, moving quietly towards us over some flat rocks; when he
had advanced a few yards from the pass he stopped and looked back, so
that from his manner I might have known that his master was near, but
without reflection I fired and struck the ground close to him; he became
alarmed and ran back in the same line he had come; I now took up my own
rifle and just as he turned a point in the rocks I fired, and, although a
very long shot, I struck him far forward in the shoulder. For a moment he
staggered, then turned round and limped up a glen in the hills in quite a
different direction. I had neither time nor strength to follow him, but
on passing the river I found from the tracks that minute made that a
single native had been coming down to the river with the dog, and had
(probably from hearing the shots) turned sharp off to the right and made
his escape into some bushes. This day the weakness of our last sheep
obliged us to kill it.

CONTINUATION OF ROUTE BACK. CHANGE OF TRACK.

April 5.

I continued on our old track this morning until I had passed the other
river, and then, quitting our former route, made a push straight over the
sandstone ridge for our old enemy the marsh, as I felt sure after the
present long continuance of fine weather that it would be now quite
passable. We encamped this night on the sandstone range under a group of
lofty firs, or rather pines.

April 6.

I found a very easy route over the sandstone, quite passable in fine
weather, but after rains, I think, from the marshy nature of the ground,
that it would present some difficulty. The marsh itself was perfectly
passable, could without any difficulty be drained, and consisted of good
and fertile land. A remarkable circumstance connected with it was the
great depth of the beds of its streams, the banks in some places being
fourteen feet above the existing water level, whilst I could observe no
signs of the water having ever risen to that height. In the afternoon I
once more struck our old track, which I quitted again in the evening. We
halted a few hundred yards from two remarkable heaps of stones of the
same kind as those I have before mentioned.

CURIOUS NATIVE MOUNDS OR TOMBS OF STONES.

April 7.

This morning I started off before dawn and opened the most southern of
the two mounds of stones which presented the following curious facts:

1. They were both placed due east and west and, as will be seen by the
annexed plates, with great regularity.

2. They were both exactly of the same length but differed in breadth and
height.

3. They were not formed altogether of small stones from the rock on which
they stood, but many were portions of very distant rocks, which must have
been brought by human labour, for their angles were as sharp as the day
they were broken off; there were also the remains of many and different
kinds of seashells in the heap we opened.

My own opinion concerning these heaps of stones had been that they were
tombs; and this opinion remains unaltered, though we found no bones in
the mound, only a great deal of fine mould having a damp dank smell. The
antiquity of the central part of the one we opened appeared to be very
great, I should say two or three hundred years; but the stones above were
much more modern, the outer ones having been very recently placed; this
was also the case with the other heap: can this be regarded by the
natives as a holy spot?

We explored the heap by making an opening in the side, working on to the
centre, and thence downwards to the middle, filling up the former opening
as the men went on; yet five men provided with tools were occupied two
hours in completing this opening and closing it again, for I left
everything precisely as I had found it. The stones were of all sizes,
from one as weighty as a strong man could lift, to the smallest pebble.
The base of each heap was covered with a rank vegetation, but the top was
clear, from the stones there having been recently deposited.

PASS IN MOUNTAIN RANGE.

In the afternoon we proceeded on our route, travelling nearly north.
After marching some distance we traversed at right angles a variety of
under-features terminating in sandstone cliffs, but the hills on our
right were composed of the same black rock as the chain in which Mount
Lyell lies. Private Mustard being ill, I gave him my horse and tried to
walk, but injured myself materially by so doing. We were obliged to
encamp at the head of a large mangrove inlet.

April 8.

It being Sunday I halted all the morning and only started late in the
afternoon. Our route lay through a mountainous country and consequently
our progress was slow. Quartz was here largely developed in rocks. We
halted this evening in a valley surrounded by mountains.

PASS MOUNT LYELL.

April 9.

We started at dawn and soon found that the valley we had encamped in was
the true pass across the range of mountains. It ran in nearly a
south-west direction to the foot of Mount Lyell. Here I halted for
breakfast; and, on finding my position by cross bearings, which I was now
able to do, and comparing it with my position by dead reckoning, was glad
to find that the error only amounted to 150 yards. The valley we
travelled up in the morning was fertile, connected with several other
large ones of similar character, and contained two small lakes, or large
ponds of water, the least of which was elevated considerably above the
low ground in the neighbourhood. In the afternoon we crossed the
mountains by a narrow neck, which is the best pass over this range of
hills for anyone travelling to the south and east. We crossed our old
track twice in the afternoon and encamped in the evening under a conical
hill.

April 10.

Started at dawn, travelling nearly north-west, and crossed the heads of
all the streams which I had before seen emptying themselves into the
river Glenelg in the opening lying between Mount Sturt and Mount Eyre.
Just under the point where we encamped for the night was a large marsh in
which my horse got bogged and I had a severe fall.

CONTINUATION OF ROUTE.

April 11.

On starting this morning all the party insisted that they saw a hill,
under which our old track had passed. I felt convinced that such could
not be the case; and, had it been so, an error of four miles must have
existed in my map: yet all were so positive of their correctness that I
felt it would appear like obstinacy in me not to yield to the general
opinion. I therefore quitted our direct course to make for the foot of
this hill, and there convinced myself that I was right; yet, even when we
had now passed it, proceeding on our route, I heard several remark, "We
shall soon march back here again." But this evening I had the pleasure of
halting under the sandstone range, and the very hill we had wished to
gain.

RECOVERY OF BURIED STORES.

April 12.

We marched early, and on the way passed more native tombs; when we came
to the place where the horse had been left I found that, through
inadvertence on the part of the man who led him, he had been starved to
death, having been left tethered. This discovery shocked me much. Some of
the stores which had been left where he fell and covered with a
tarpaulinremained uninjured. We proceeded onwards to the camp where I had
lain so long wounded, and, on arriving found all our provisions in good
order, the natives apparently not having since visited the spot. We were
not a little glad to find our preserved meats which had been left buried
here. Halted for the night, and enjoyed our repast.

PRECAUTIONS ON REACHING HANOVER BAY.

April 13.

After digging up our supply of preserved meats yesterday we had made
rather more free with them than was prudent in men who had been for so
long a time compelled to subsist upon very scanty fare, and in
consequence had been nearly all affected with violent sickness; and, as
six of the party, including Mr. Lushington and myself, were now ill, we
did not start very early; the remaining ponies were also so weak that
they could scarcely carry themselves, and we therefore were only able to
place very light loads upon them.

I have already described the very difficult nature of the country we had
to traverse; but the roads we had previously constructed through it
proved extremely serviceable. So little had they been injured that they
formed a very fair and passable line of communication. Early in the
evening we crossed the Lushington and halted at the summit of the cliffs
which formed its northern bank.

April 14.

I sent the most efficient of the party back with the horses for the
remaining stores whilst with four men I remained in charge of the tents.

ANXIETY ON APPROACHING HANOVER BAY.

Sunday April 15.

Our anxiety to ascertain if any accident had happened to the schooner now
became very great: since such a circumstance was of course by no means
impossible. As our position would then have been very precarious, and our
only chance of ultimate safety have rested on the most exact discipline
and cautious rules of conduct being observed from the very first, I
thought it would be most prudent not to allow such a calamity (had it
occurred) to burst too suddenly upon the men when they were quite
unprepared for it.

Two of them were therefore selected and, accompanied by these, I started
before daylight for the sandy beach in Hanover Bay; leaving the party to
make the best of their way to the heights above the valley where we had
first encamped, and where plenty of food and water could be found for the
ponies; these, in the event of anything having happened to the schooner,
would become the mainstay of our hopes.

These arrangements having been made we moved off through the rocky
difficult country we had first encountered: every step we took was over
well-known ground, in which no change had taken place save that there
were evident marks of bodies of natives having been in the neighbourhood
since our departure.

As I proceeded nearly in a direct line to Hanover Bay we encountered some
difficulty from the broken character of the ground, but about eleven
o'clock had gained the hilly country at the back of the beach, from
whence however we could not obtain a view of the spot where the vessel
lay. On emerging from the mangroves upon the beach we saw painted upon
the sandstone cliffs, in very large letters, "Beagle Observatory, letters
south-east 52 paces."

REJOIN THE LYNHER. MEETING WITH THE BEAGLE.

No one who has not been similarly situated can at all conceive the thrill
which went through me when these letters first met my eye; even had
anything happened to the schooner, friends were upon the coast, and I
knew that Captain Wickham, who had passed a great portion of his life in
adventures of this kind, would leave nothing undone which was in his
power to ensure our safety. We now hurried across the beach, and on
gaining the highest part of it saw the little schooner riding safely at
anchor. A gun being fired all became life and expectation on board the
vessel; and whilst the boat pulled ashore we searched for our letters.
These had however not yet been deposited at the spot indicated, and I
therefore conjectured that we should find them on board.

On reaching the vessel we learnt that the mate was gone to the Beagle,
now lying in Port George the Fourth but expected to sail this very day.
It appeared that at 7 o'clock on the morning of the 8th the report of
four carronades was heard on board the schooner; this was conjectured by
all to denote the presence of the Beagle on the coast, but the echo ran
from cliff to cliff with so many reverberations that none could tell from
what direction the sound had originally proceeded. The silence of the
night was not again disturbed; and those on board the schooner felt no
small solicitude to know if their conjectures were correct, and if so in
what direction the Beagle lay.

ARRIVAL OF THE BEAGLE.

The next morning the mystery was cleared up. Before noon a yawl was seen
to round the headland and to stand across the bay in the direction of the
mouth of Prince Regent's River. As soon as the schooner was recognised
the yawl altered her course, and Captain Wickham was soon on board the
Lynher, making anxious enquiries for us and ascertaining what steps could
be taken to assist us and promote our views.

From that time up to the present date the Beagle had lain in Port George
the Fourth to take in wood, water, etc., and to await the return of Mr.
Stokes, who was absent exploring the coast between Collier's Bay and Port
George the Fourth.

As there was no time to lose I at once started in a boat for the Beagle,
and it was late in the evening when we drew near it. I could see anxious
groups looking eagerly at the little boat as it drew near, and when at
length we were recognised the hearty cheers that greeted us as we came up
alongside plainly showed that the pleasure of meeting was not confined to
ourselves.

RESULTS OF HER SURVEY.

As Mr. Stokes was hourly expected to return, and I was very anxious to
know if he had discovered the mouth of the Glenelg, I remained on board
the Beagle and, as all had much to hear and much to communicate, the
evening wore rapidly away. The next day Mr. Stokes arrived, having seen
nothing of the mouth of the river; this however in my apprehension arose
from the greater portion of the time they were absent having been spent
in the examination of Collier's Bay, which was the point of by far the