The History of Australian Exploration from 1788 to 1888

by Ernest Favenc

The beginning of their trip down the Einnesleigh was unavoidably rough, and on the 22nd of the month they came to a halt to spell their cattle and look for the Lynd River, to which they trusted to carry them a good distance on their way. On the 24th the two brothers started, and in about thirty miles came to another river, where they found a fine chain of lagoons, but no country at all resembling the Lynd. All search beyond being resultless, the went back to the main body; and, leaving instructions for the cattle to start by a certain date for the new-found lagoons, they made another effort to find the Lynd.

This time they were again rewarded by discovering a good-sized creek, but no sign of the Lynd was met with, nor did they ever see it, as owing to an error in the map they had with them, the location of the river had been thirty miles misplaced.

Returning to the lagoons, which the cattle had now reached, instructions were given to start forward, but the first day one of the series of heavy misfortunes befell them, that afterwards seemed to dog them so perseveringly. In the morning a large number of the horses were missing, and leaving a party behind to find them and come on with the pack-horses, the Jardines and some of the others made a start with the cattle, and on the second day reached the large creek, but, to their surprise, without being overtaken by the men with the pack-horses. After an anxious day spent in waiting, Alexander Jardine went back to see what was the matter, and on his way met the missing party charged with heavy news. Through some carelessness in allowing the grass around the camp to catch fire, half their rations, and nearly the whole of their equipment had been burnt. In addition, one of the most valuable of their horses had been poisoned. This misfortune coming at such an early stage of the journey, with all the unknown country ahead of them, was most serious, and jeopardised their prospect greatly. However, there was no help for it; so giving up all hope of the Lynd, they followed down the creek they were then camped on.

The natives soon commenced to give them a foretaste of what they kept up during nearly the whole of the journey. Once about twenty appeared at sundown, and boldly attacked the camp with a shower of spears, and two days afterwards the younger Jardine, when out alone, was suddenly surprised by them.

The creek finally led them to the Staaten River, and here the blacks succeeded in stampeding the horses, and it was days before some of them were recovered.

On the 5th December they left this ill-fated river, and steered due north, but bad luck followed them, the torment of mosquitoes and sandflies, added to bad feed, caused their horses to ramble incessantly, and whilst the brothers were away on these hunting excursions, the party at the camp allowed their solitary mule to stray away with his pack on; and despite all efforts he was never found again. Unfortunately, this animal carried a lot of their most necessary articles, and their loss reduced them almost to the same state as the blackfellows who surrounded them.

Two horses here went mad through drinking salt water, one died, and the other was too ill to travel, and had to be left.

On December the 13th they at last reached the long-desired Mitchell river, not without having another pitched battle on the way with the natives. For the blacks followed them throughout with the same relentless hostility that they formerly had shown to Kennedy, and evidently meant to mete out the same fate to them, for whilst the party were on the Mitchell they mustered in force, and fell upon the travellers with the greatest determination, and it was only after a severe contest, and heavy loss had been inflicted on the savages that they retired.

It can be imagined how these continued attacks, in addition to the harassing nature of the country, gave the party all they knew to hold their own, and but for the prompt and plucky way in which these assaults were always met, not one of the little band would have survived. From what was afterwards found out from some of the semi-civilized natives about Somerset, these tribes followed the explorers for over four hundred miles.

Leaving the Mitchell and making north, they travelled through poor country, thinly grassed, and badly watered, but the blacks were still on their heels.