They now got on to the head waters of the Murchison, or rather the dry channels of these tributaries, and at last reached the Murchison itself; a river with a deep-cut channel, but perfectly dry. Beyond this their efforts were in vain, they fought their way to within a hundred miles of Shark's Bay, but they had then been so long without water that it was courting certain death to proceed. Even during the retreat to the Murchison the lives of the horses were only saved by the party accidentally finding a small native well in a most unexpected situation, namely, in the middle of a bare ironstone plain.
Pushing on ahead of his party, Austin reached the Murchison twenty-five miles south-west of his former course, but the river was the same, or worse, tantalising him with pools of salt water.
A desperate search was made to the southward, during a day of fierce and terrible heat, and when in utter despair they, on the second day, made for some small hills that they sighted, providentially, they found both water and grass. The whole of the party were then moved to this spot, which out of gratitude was named Mount Welcome.
Nothing daunted by the sufferings he had undergone, Austin now made another attempt to reach Shark's Bay. On their way to the Murchison they captured an old native, and took him with them to point out the watering places of the blacks. At first he was able to show them one or two that they would probably have missed, but after they had crossed the Murchison and got some distance to the westward, the watering places the native had relied on were found to be dry, and it was only after the most acute sufferings from thirst, and the loss of some more horses, that they managed to straggle back to Mount Welcome. Austin's conduct during these terrible marches seems to have approached the heroic. When his companions fell off one by one and laid down to die, and the native inhabitant of the wilds was cowering weeping under a bush, he managed to reach the little well that the blackfellow had formerly shown them, and without resting, tramped back with water to revive his exhausted comrades.
Arrived at Mount Welcome, they found the water there on the point of giving out, and weak as they all were, an instant start had to be made for the Geraldine mine, where a small settlement had been formed to work the galena lode discovered by Gregory. The prospect before them was most discouraging; to the mine the distance was one hundred and sixty miles, and to the highest point on the Murchison, where Gregory had found water, which would be their first stage, was ninety miles, but it had to be done. They started at midnight, and by means of forced marches, travelling day and night, reached Gregory's old camp on the river; having fortunately found a small supply of water at one place on the way. From this point they followed the river down, obtaining water from springs in the banks, and on the 20th November arrived at the mine, where they were warmly entertained. From thence they returned, some by sea and some by land, to Perth.
Austin's exploration had led to no profitable result. The large lake (Moore), that had so hampered Gregory, was found to be an arm or outlet of the still larger Cow-cowing, and that was about all. The upper Murchison had not turned out at all well, and the whole summary of the journal amounts to repetitions of daily struggles with a barren and waterless district, under the fiery sun of the southern summer.
Austin thought that eastward of his limit the country would improve, but subsequent explorations have not borne this out. He had singularly hard fortune to contend against; after the serious loss he sustained in having his horses poisoned, an accident that the greatest care will not always prevent, he was pitted against some of the worst country in Australia—dry, impenetrably scrubby, and barren; and this, too, during the hottest part of the year. That he succeeded in bringing his party safely through such difficulties, was in itself a most wonderful achievement.
CHAPTER VIII.
A. C. Gregory's North Australian expedition in 1855-56, accompanied by Baron Von Mueller and Dr. Elsey—Disappointment in the length of 'the Victoria—Journey to the Westward—Discovery of Sturt's Creek—Its course followed south—Termination in a salt lake—Return to Victoria River —Start homeward, overland—The Albert identified—The Leichhardt christened—Return by the Burdekin and Suttor—Visit of Babbage to Lake Torrens—Expedition by Goyder—Deceived by mirage—Excitement in Adelaide—Freeling sent out—Discovers the error—Hack explores the Gawler Range—Discovers Lake Gairdner—Warburton in the same direction—Swinden and party west of Lake Torrens—Babbage in the Lake District—His long delay—Warburton sent to supersede him—Rival claims to discovery—Frank Gregory explores the Gascoyne in Western Australia —A. C. Gregory follows the Barcoo in search of Leichhardt—Discovery of a marked tree—Arrival in Adelaide—The early explorations of M'Dowall Stuart—Frank Gregory at Nickol Bay—Discovers the Ashburton—Fine pastoral country—Discovers the De Grey and Oakover Rivers—Turned back by the desert—Narrow escape.
In 1855, public interest was once more excited in the mysterious disappearance of Leichhardt; this brought forward the question of further exploration in the interior, and some generous offers were made by private individuals to provide money for the outfit of a party. The English Government, however, working through New South Wales, took the matter in hand and furnished the necessary funds.